Asia stocks waver as yen surges, Iran warns of retaliation

Asian markets hesitated on Tuesday as the Japanese yen strengthened and Iran threatened retaliation against the United States. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fluctuated before closing up 0.2%, buoyed by the yen's surge to its strongest level since February. The MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 0.2%, led by a 1.2% gain in South Korea's KOSPI.

US risk sentiment faced a setback, with the S&P 500 e-mini futures slipping 0.1% after a US holiday. Meanwhile, oil prices climbed on a third consecutive day, driven by Iran's threats of retaliation. Brent crude futures edged up 0.04% to $97.04 per barrel, while the yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond increased 0.6 basis points to 4.788%.

The US dollar index hovered near a two-week low of 98.82. In Japan, the April-June GDP growth was revised upward, but still fell short of expectations. Meanwhile, Japanese real wages surged 2.4% in July, the highest increase since May 2021. Australian shares fell 0.6% as consumer sentiment deteriorated. Gold rose 0.5% to $4,428.23, while Bitcoin and Ether saw modest gains.