Asia shares are mixed following Wall Street's losses, as oil edges lower

Asia shares are mixed following Wall Street's losses, as oil edges lower Asia shares are mixed following a mild retreat on Wall Street, while the price of oil fell more than $1 after reaching the highest level since the summer of 2024 By CHAN HO-HIM AP business writer March 6, 2026, 12:41 AM HONG KONG -- Asia shares were mixed Friday following a mild retreat on Wall Street, while the price of oil fell more than $1 after reaching the highest level since the summer of 2024. U.S. futures edged higher as the war with Iran entered its seventh day, with Israeli airstrikes pounding the capitals of Iran and Lebanon. The future for the S & P 500 gained 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%. In Asian trading, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.8% to 5,536.40, after a roller coaster week with a 12% loss on Wednesday followed by a nearly 10% rebound on Thursday. The index had shot above 6,000 in recent weeks before the war began to rattle financial markets. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4% to 55,518.63. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% to 25,713.49, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 4,113.70. Australia’s S & P/ASX 200 declined 1.1% to 8,845.30. Taiwan’s Taiex traded 0.4% lower, while India's Sensex lost 0.6%. Oil prices fell Friday in a reprieve from this week's surges as production and supply worries over the war with Iran intensified. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 1.2% early Friday to $80.07 per barrel, after hitting $81.01 a barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 1% to $84.59 per barrel, after reaching $85.41 a day earlier. If oil prices spike further, like to $100 per barrel, and stay there, some analysts and investors say it could be too much for the global economy to withstand. Uncertainty about what will happen has caused frenetic swings across financial markets this week, sometimes hour by hour. Friday's easing of crude prices followed a 30-day temporary waiver from the U.S. for Indian refiners to ...