SINGAPORE: Asian stocks slumped on Friday, poised for a second straight weekly decline as fast-dwindling hopes of a resolution to the US and Israel’s war with Iran kept oil prices aloft, casting a shadow over global markets and spurring inflation fears.
The US dollar has become the safe-haven of choice during the tumult, putting most other currencies under pressure. The dollar was set for a second consecutive week of gains and is up 2 percent since the war broke out at the end of February.
The yen hit its weakest level since July 2024 at 159.69 per US dollar on Friday as Japan warned that it was ready to take action to protect against yen declines. It was last at 159.41.
Analysts said the bar for intervention is higher this time around as any intervention now could prove futile in the face of the relentless dollar buying.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares slipped 1 percent, on course for a 2.2 percent decline for the week. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.4 percent, while tech-heavy South Korean stocks slid nearly 2 percent.
