MARKETS: Asian stock markets are mainly down

During the night, Asian markets mostly saw a decline. Globally, the market fell to the levels of the beginning of May.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was around 0.0 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.2 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex index was down 0.3 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.2 percent.

The night was a bear market in global stock markets. The MSCI All Country index was down 0.1 percent. The index fell to a level last seen on May 5.

Volatility on the stock market is on the rise: the VIX index rose to more than 22 points. Investors wrestled with, among other things, the high valuations of techno stocks. In the US, many key technology stocks slipped on Wednesday. A space company is expected in the United States SpaceX‘s stock market opening for Friday. The US struck Iran at night.

The price of oil has risen. The price of a Brent barrel rose by about one percent to 94 dollars. A barrel of WTI rose by about 1.2 percent to over $91.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro strengthened against most currencies. The US dollar weakened slightly. For one euro, you got 1.1550 dollars, 185.38 yen, 0.86289 pounds or 10.968 Swedish kronor.

The Euro Stoxx 600 future was down about 0.5 percent. Key U.S. futures appeared to be rising.