Asian Markets Weaken Following Sharp Wall Street Correction Amid Rising US-Iran Tensions

Asia-Pacific stock markets displayed mixed movements at the opening of trading on Friday, 20 February 2026. The fluctuations followed a sharp correction on United States exchanges, which came under pressure from escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Iran is reported to have intensified its attacks against the US. The development comes as US President Donald Trump stated he would make a decision regarding military action against Tehran within the next ten days.

Investors are currently assessing Japanese inflation data. In January 2026, Japan’s headline inflation fell below the central bank’s two per cent target for the first time in 45 months.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) was set to release its loan prime rate (LPR) decision on Friday. The one-year and five-year LPRs currently stand at 3.0 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.

According to CNBC International, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slumped 1.04 per cent, whilst the Topix index also suffered a steep decline of 1.12 per cent.

In South Korea, the Kospi index gained 0.66 per cent. Meanwhile, the small-cap Kosdaq index slipped 0.19 per cent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was seen weakening 0.2 per cent at the start of trading. Markets in mainland China and Hong Kong remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

On Wall Street, equities linked to private credit and software came under significant pressure owing to the Iran-US tensions. This caused all three benchmark indices to retreat.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average led losses, falling 0.54 per cent. The S&P 500 shed 0.28 per cent, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.31 per cent.