Australia and Japan markets set to climb, looking past Iran war escalation fears
Australian and Japanese markets rose Friday, following Wall Street's lead as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached new highs amid strong earnings from companies like Apple and Caterpillar. Investors appeared to overlook weaker-than-expected U.S. GDP growth and rising geopolitical tensions involving Iran. Most other Asian markets were closed for the May Day holiday.
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Markets in Australia and Japan mostly rose Friday, mirroring gains on Wall Street that saw both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reach new highs.This comes as investors took in strong earnings from Apple and Caterpillar, looking past weaker-than-expected economic data and threats of escalation in Iran by U.S. President Donald Trump.Brent crude prices had risen to top $126 a barrel after Axios reported that the U.S. military would brief Trump on potential action against Iran.Brent closed at $110.40 a barrel, while U.S West Texas Intermediate was 0.61% up at $105.71, as of 7:46 p.m. ET.On Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product rose at a 2% annualized pace in the first quarter.
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