Asian stocks mostly lower after Wall Street’s worst day since start of Iran war

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares mostly fell Friday after Wall Street had its worst day since the start of the Iran war over growing doubts about a de-escalation.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.2% to 52,982.86 in early trading. South Korea’s Kospi sank 3.1% to 5,293.26.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.1% to 24,825.50, while the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1% to 3,893.21.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, while Taiwan’s Taiex was trading 1.5% lower.

On Thursday, Wall Street fell to its worst drop since the Iran war began, with the S&P 500 sinking 1.7% for its worst day since January to 6,477.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to 45,960.11. The Nasdaq composite slumped 2.4% to 21,408.08, and is off 10% below its recent all-time high in what is considered a “correction.”

Expectations this week of de-escalation negotiations between Washington and Tehran have sent markets into disarray.

Shortly after Wall Street trading closed Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was postponing a threatened attack on Iran’s energy facilities as he further delayed until April 6 a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil and gas transport.

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Doubts over a possible end to the war grew after Iran rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal and issued a counterproposal, while the U.S. was sending more troops to the region.

Oil prices fell again on Friday after earlier gains. Brent crude futures, the international standard, was down 1.1% to $100.77 per barrel. It was above $102 on Thursday.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.3% early Wednesday to $93.30 a barrel.

In other dealings early Friday, gold and silver prices rose. Gold’s price was up 1% to $4,420.70 per ounce. The price of silver was 1.6% higher to $69.04.

The U.S. dollar fell to 159.56 Japanese yen from 159.81 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1539, up from $1.1527.

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.