ASIA NIGHT SESSION | Nikkei Night Futures Slide 630 Points as US-Iran Flare-Up Lifts Oil; Hang Seng Futures Off 107, TAIEX Flat

According to JPX official data, RTHK and HKET, Asian index-futures traded lower overnight as a renewed US-Iran military exchange pushed Brent crude above US$90 a barrel and lifted the US 10-year Treasury yield to a 19-month high, while Wall Street and European markets dipped on hawkish remarks from US Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh. The United States said it had struck Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran retaliated with missiles at US targets in Jordan. The near-month Nikkei 225 index futures (September 2026 contract) ended the Osaka Exchange night session at 65,820, down 630 points, trading between a high of 66,540 and a low of 65,720 from an open of 66,370, as firmer expectations of Bank of Japan rate hikes weighed on risk appetite. Korean night-index futures fell, according to Yonhap, tracking the softer overnight tone on Wall Street. In the prior cash session the KOSPI had closed 0.46% higher at 6,820.02, supported by share buybacks from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Hang Seng Index night futures closed 107 points lower at 25,346, while the China-concept night index eased 2.2% to 6,074. In US ADR trading, Alibaba fell 2.17% against its Hong Kong close, Tencent's ADR slipped 1.04% and Meituan's eased 0.75%, though HSBC's ADR firmed 0.43%. Southbound flows drew a net HK$2.14 billion into Hong Kong stocks for a fourth straight session. Taiwan's TAIEX futures were little changed, with the near-month (September 2026) contract ending the night session at 45,978, up 1 point or 0.00%, after ranging between 46,195 and 45,788 on volume of 25,137 lots.