British News Agency

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is up over 2 percent, resuming a rally after slipping 1 percent in its first hour of trade. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.46 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.34 percent, while the broad-based Topix increased 0.41 percent. South Korea’s Kospi traded 0.19 percent higher, while the Kosdaq rose 0.74 percent.

Markets in mainland China will reopen on Oct. 8. Chinese stocks have been torn after authorities announced several support measures last week.

October trading has had a shaky start as rising tensions in the Middle East weigh on investor sentiment. Following a decline in stocks on Tuesday due to Iran’s missile strike on Israel, investors are bracing for more unpredictability as Israel begins a ground operation in Lebanon.

U.S. crude futures rose around 5 percent overnight. They ticked higher again on Friday morning on concerns that Israel could strike Iran’s oil industry in retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack this week. U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday commented on a possible Israel retaliation against Iran: “We’re discussing that. I think that would be a little — anyway.” 

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 184.93 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 42,011.59. The S&P 500 lost 0.17 percent to close at 5,699.94. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day off 0.04 percent at 17,918.48 as a rally of more than 3 percent in Nvidia capped downside pressure.