Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Thursday after Wall Street closed in the red on growing geopolitical tensions and comments from U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. defense stocks fell after the president said he “will not permit” defense companies to issue dividends or stock buybacks until they address his complaints about the industry, including executive pay packages and production issues.
Oil prices also dropped overnight after Trump said that Venezuela’s interim authorities would turn over as much as 50 million barrels of crude to the U.S., raising concerns about an increase in global supply.
Brent crude futures
fell 0.51% to $60.39 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
