SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan looked set for a lower Wednesday start on the back of overnight declines stateside as the Russia-Ukraine conflict led to a surge in oil prices.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 26,455 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 26,420. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 26,844.72.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.58% in morning trade, ahead of fourth-quarter GDP data set to be released at 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.
Oil prices have surged in recent days as Russia continued its assault on Ukraine, with U.S. crude futures hitting its highest level in seven years on Tuesday.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 597.65 points to 33,294.95 while the S&P 500 shed 1.55% to 4,306.26. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.59% to 13,532.46.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.392 after a recent climb from levels below 97.
The Japanese yen traded at 114.83 per dollar, still stronger than levels around 115.6 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7252, largely holding on to gains after climbing from below $0.72 earlier in the week.
Source: CNBC