Asian-Pacific markets fell on Wednesday, tracking losses from Wall Street as oil prices surged following Iran's missile attack on Israel.
The ASX 200, Kospi 200, and Nikkei 225 dropped by 0.4%, 1.4%, and 1.6%, respectively.
In South Korea, traders digested new data on consumer inflation, which showed the country's consumer price index rising 1.6% in September compared to a year earlier, missing expectations of a 1.9% increase.
U.S. stock indices also posted losses after Iran's missile barrage on Israel exacerbated geopolitical tensions. The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, following its record-high close a day earlier. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.4%.
Among the S&P 500's top performers, Paychex Inc surged 4.92%, APA Corp jumped 4.91%, and ConocoPhillips gained 3.88%. On the downside, Amentum Holdings Inc tumbled 20.16%, Humana Inc slid 11.77%, and Dell Technologies fell 4.54%.
Oil prices and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) surged as Iran launched ballistic missiles in response to Israel’s ground incursion into Lebanon. Tensions escalated with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group. Meanwhile, gold remained unchanged at US$2,663.5.
China and Hong Kong markets were closed for public holidays, while India’s BSE SENSEX finished flat at 84,266.3.
In Europe, markets saw mixed results. The FTSE 100 in the UK edged up 0.5% to 8,276.7, while Germany's DAX fell 0.6% to 19,213.1, and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.8% to 7,574.1.
