Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Friday, as tensions in the Middle East continue to test a fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
The Iran conflict, which has been going on for more than a month, led to the closure of the crucial energy waterway, Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran agreed to reopen the strait for the next two weeks as long as all attacks on the country were halted, according to a statement from its foreign minister. Media reports said that Israel had also agreed to the ceasefire. That followed U.S. President Donald Trump agreeing to pause attacks on Iran.
Trump said Thursday that Iran "better stop now" if it was charging fees to oil tankers for allowing them passage through the strait.
The West Texas Intermediate was up 0.62% at $98.48 per barrel as of 7.50 p.m. ET. Brent crude ended the Thursday session at $95.92 per barrel, up over 1%. WTI had crossed $100 per barrel earlier in the session, as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained minimal despite the ceasefire agreement with U.S.
Japan's Nikkei 225 is set to fall with the Chicago contract at 56,545 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 56,700, compared to the index's previous close of 55,895.32
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were last at 25,900, compared with the index's Thursday close of 25,752.40.
In Australia, futures for the benchmark index last traded at 8,995, while the S&P/ASX 200's closed at 8,973.20.
Overnight on Wall Street,  oil prices came off their highs of the day while the S&P 500 traded into the green.
The S&P 500 ended the session at 6,824.66, adding 0.62%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.83% to 22,822.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 275.88 points, or 0.58%, and settled at 48,185.80. The 30-stock index turned positive for the year, up 0.25%.
â Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to the report
