On Friday, Asian markets opened in a precipitous decline following Israel's incursion into the Iranian capital, an event that catalysed a surge in crude oil prices – both West Texas Intermediate and Brent experiencing substantial appreciation – amidst heightened anxieties regarding Iran's burgeoning nuclear programme.

Across equity markets, bellwether indices – Tokyo's Nikkei 225, Seoul's KOSPI, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, the Shanghai Composite, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 – registered declines; however, according to Xu Tiachen of the Economist Intelligence Unit, while the Israeli offensive presents a systemic global risk, Asian markets, demonstrating a limited exposure to the conflict and buttressed by deepening ties with comparatively insulated regions such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are anticipated to exhibit a swift recovery.

Conversely, US equity indices ascended following a salutary inflation update released on Thursday, with ameliorating inflationary pressures catalyzing a decline in US Treasury yields, thereby bolstering share prices and intimating a potential interest rate recalibration by the Federal Reserve later in the year; notwithstanding these propitious developments, apprehensions persist regarding the prospective ramifications of President Trump's intermittent imposition of tariffs on both inflationary trends and broader macroeconomic stability, tempering unbridled optimism.