Asia stocks fall as US-Iran military flare-up dents peace hopes

Investing.com- Asian stocks fell on Friday, with Japanese and South Korean markets coming off record highs as renewed military action between the U.S. and Iran dampened hopes for an end to the war.Regional markets took a weak lead-in from Wall Street, which fell from record highs overnight after the U.S. military said it intercepted attacks on three warships in the Strait of Hormuz. But overall losses were limited, with S&P 500 Futures up 0.2% in Asian trade as technology shares remained resilient on optimism over artificial intelligence. [[pro_promotion |Get more insights on Asian stocks and the impact of the Iran war by subscribing to InvestingPro]]S.Korea’s KOSPI falls from record highs, but set for bumper weekSouth Korea’s KOSPI was among the worst performers for the day, falling 1.6% and coming further off record highs hit earlier in the week.But the index was by far the best-performing Asian bourse this week, and was set to add more than 11%. This was largely on strength in local chipmaking stocks, with memory chip giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) logging strong gains on growing optimism over the AI industry.Samsung fell 3% on Friday, while SK Hynix shed 1.5% after a strong week of record highs. Losses in SK Hynix were limited after Reuters reported the company was courting “unprecedented” offers from major technology companies seeking to source memory chip supplies. Asian stocks fall as Iran tensions surge, but weekly gains on tap Broader Asian stocks retreated on Friday, dented by an escalation in U.S.-Iran military action in the Strait of Hormuz. The flare-up largely dented earlier hopes that a lasting peace deal between the two was close. Oil prices also surged on Friday, further spooking markets with the inflationary spectre of the Iran war.Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes fell over 1% each. Strong Japanese wage data– which showed real wages increasing for a third consecutive month in March– also furthered bets that an interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan was close.But the Nikkei was still set to add about 4% this week, having returned from the Golden Week holiday with strong gains.China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, but were up over 1% this week. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.2% but was up nearly 2% this week on gains in tech. Australia’s ASX 200 fell 1.5% and was flat this week, after the Reserve Bank hiked interest rates by 25 basis points and warned of higher inflation that could stifle growth.Singapore’s Straits Times index slid 0.9%, while futures for India’s Nifty 50 were flat.