Stocks fell in Asia on Friday as oil prices rose amid a US military buildup in the Middle East, and a rout in ⁠private equity stocks sent ripples of nerves across markets.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index opened 48 points, or 0.2 percent, lower at 26,657.

The China enterprises index was 17 points, or 0.2 percent, lower at 9,052 while the tech index was 36 points, or 0.7 percent, down at 5,330.

Mainland markets were closed for the Lunar New Year break, but the Nikkei 225 was down 738 points, or 1.28 percent, at 56,729.

Overnight on Wall Street, listed private equity stocks took a beating after one manager, Blue Owl, sold assets and permanently stopped quarterly redemptions from one of its funds, stoking wider concerns about valuations and liquidity in the sector.

Blue Owl stock finished about 6 percent lower and shares in larger rivals Apollo Global Management and Blackstone fell more than 5 percent.

Benchmark Brent crude futures touched six-and-a-half month peaks above US$72 a barrel as US President Donald Trump set a deadline of 10 ⁠to 15 days for Iran to make a deal over its nuclear program or "really bad ⁠things" will happen.

Taken together, the ⁠news had investors shying away from risk, said Kenji Abe, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo, and positioning ahead of an earnings report from the world's most valuable company, Nvidia, next week.

The ⁠chipmaker is close to finalising a US$30 billion investment in OpenAI that will replace the long-term US$100 billion commitment agreed upon by the companies last year, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources.

Walmart shares fell about 1.4 percent after new chief executive John Furner offered a cautious US consumer outlook.

The US trade deficit widened sharply in December, data showed and the ⁠goods shortfall in 2025 was the highest on record suggesting Trump's tariffs have had little impact. (Reuters)



Edited by Cecil Wong