This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday, as escalating tensions between Israel and Iran weigh on investor sentiment.
Adding fuel to fire, U.S. President Donald Trump is mulling a military strike on Iran, while demanding the country’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “surrender,” former and current U.S. officials told NBC News.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” by Iran.
“Comments from President Trump have triggered speculation that the U.S. will get more involved in the conflict between Iran and Israel that escalated significantly five days ago,” ANZ analysts wrote in a note.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.9% to close at 38,885.15, and the Topix rose 0.77% to end the trading day at 2,808.35. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.74% to close at 2,972.19 and the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.53% higher at 779.73.
Japan exports in May declined 1.7% year on year, softer than the 3.8% decline expected by Reuters. The data comes a day after the Bank of Japan highlighted in its monetary policy statement that the country’s growth was likely to “moderate” on the back of factors like trade, which would lead to a slowdown in overseas economies and a decline in domestic corporate profits.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.12% to close at 8,531.2.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.12% to close at 23,710.69, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.12% to end the trading day at 3,874.97.
U.S. stock futures inched lower as traders brace for the Federal Reserve’s rate decision due Wednesday afternoon stateside.
Overnight on Wall Street, all three major averages ended the trading day lower. the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 299.29 points, or 0.70%, to close at 42,215.80. The S&P 500 shed 0.84% to end at 5,982.72, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.91% and settled at 19,521.09.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
$50 the “sweet spot” to keep energy investments flowing: Petronas CEO
Malaysia state energy firm Petronas’ President and Group CEO Muhammad Taufik said that $50 was the “sweet spot” for breakeven costs that will “keep energy investments coming” and keep the industry afloat.
“[In] the current environment we face, we cannot face another period of serious under-investment. That is going to cause us to go through another roller coaster, detrimental to world growth, detrimental to economic prosperity, and I think, threatens any pursuit of sustainability,” Taufik told CNBC on the sidelines of the Energy Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
He noted that even though energy demand will continue to grow, affordability remained an issue in the Asean region where there is a wide range of per capita income “from sub-$2,000 to $93,000 per capita.”
“We’re going to have to provide all the energy that’s going to support industrialization, increased urbanization, a growing middle income, and now with the fifth Industrial Revolution, the proliferation of AI, we’ve got to deliver and we’ve got to deliver it cleanly,” he added.
– Connie Tan, Neha Hegde
Top oil CEOs sound the alarm as Israel-Iran strikes escalate
Top oil executives are sounding the alarm over the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
The CEOs of TotalEnergies, Shell, and EnQuest told CNBC that further attacks on critical energy infrastructure could have serious consequences for global supply and prices.
Israel’s surprise attack on Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure on Friday has been followed by four days of spiraling warfare between the regional foes.
Some oil and gas facilities have been hit in both countries in recent days, although key energy infrastructure and crude flows have so far been spared.
“How we navigate over the coming days and weeks, the situation is something that is particularly top of mind for myself, and the leadership team,” said Shell CEO Wael Sawan.
Read the full story here.
—Sam Meredith
Singapore central bank survey downgrades city-state’s growth for 2025
Economists and analysts have sharply downgraded their growth forecasts for the Singapore economy in 2025, according to a quarterly survey by the country’s monetary authority.
The Singapore economy is now estimated to grow at 1.7% for the full year of 2025, down from March’s estimate of 2.6%.
Notably, the poll of the 20 professionals expected manufacturing to contract by 0.3% in 2025, a significant pullback from their previous median forecast of a 2.9% growth.
The latest survey noted that geopolitical tensions, including the escalation in trade tensions, have emerged as the most cited downside risks to Singapore’s economic outlook.
Singapore’s trade and industry ministry had maintained its forecast of 0%-2% growth for 2025 in May, after the city-state reported a 3.9% growth in the first quarter.
— Lim Hui Jie
Asia in ‘good position’ to withstand higher oil price pressures: Morgan Stanley
The most important implication of the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict for Asia will be what happens to oil prices, but the region is in “a very good position” to weather higher crude prices in terms of inflation and current account balance, said Morgan Stanley’s chief Asia economist Chetan Ahya.
“Even if oil prices rise up to about $85, we think that [the] region can take that pressure,” he said at a media webcast on Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil gained 0.45% to $75.18 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent rose 0.35% to $76.72 per barrel in early Asia hours.
—Lee Ying Shan
Japan exports fall at sharpest pace in 8 months, down 1.7%
Exports from Japan in May declined 1.7% year on year, marking the sharpest decline since September 2024.
The fall was softer than the 3.8% decline forecasted by economists polled by Reuters, but was a reversal compared to the 2% gain recorded in April.
Falling exports had already made a dent in Japan’s GDP, with the country’s economy shrinking 0.2% in the quarter ending March, compared to the preceding period, marking the first time in a year that the economy contracted on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Imports to the world’s third largest economy fell 7.7% in May, compared to the Reuters poll expectations of a 6.7% decline.
Read the full story here.
—Lim Hui Jie
Stocks close in negative territory
The three major averages finished Tuesday’s session lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 299.29 points, or 0.7%, to end at 42,215.80. The S&P 500 lost 0.84%, closing at 5,982.72, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.91% to finish at 19,521.09.
— Sean Conlon
Oil prices close more than 4% higher
Crude oil futures finished the session more than 4% higher, after President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender and threatened its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The U.S. crude oil contract for July delivery gained $3.07, or 4.28%, to close at $74.84 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent for August rose $3.22, or 4.4%, to $76.45.
Oil prices had closed lower Monday on reports that Iran was seeking a ceasefire with Israel, but those hopes faded as the conflict went on for a fifth day with Trump taking a harder line against Iran.
Prices have risen about 10% since Israel launched its air campaign against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs on Friday.
— Spencer Kimball
Trump threatens Iran’s leader in Truth Social posts
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One after departing early from the the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington, June 17, 2025.
President Donald Trump has posted three times on Truth Social in the past hour in a series of messages that appears to be threatening Iran and its political leader Ali Khamenei.
In the first post, Trump wrote that “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”
The second post hinted a potential future attack from the United States on Iran. “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump wrote. “He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The third post simply reads “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
— Jesse Pound
