Asian stocks slip as Gulf tensions lift Brent near $110
What's new: MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan fell 0.2%, while South Korean shares dropped more than 1% and Treasury yields eased.
Asian stocks edged lower Thursday as a rise in oil prices and tension in the Gulf offset support from strong US tech earnings. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan fell 0.2%, heading for a fourth straight weekly decline. Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.4%, and South Korean shares fell more than 1%. Brent crude rose 1.1% to $110.03 a barrel, near a five-month high, after the United States ordered diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes and a New York Times report said US and Israeli militaries had prepared plans for renewed attacks on Iran after the Nov. 3 US midterm elections. US stock futures fell 0.4%, while the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 5.1065%.