[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac stocks follow suit to the mostly negative from Wall St amid private credit fund concerns and geopolitical risks

APAC Stocks: Mostly lower

• Asia-Pac stocks followed suit to the predominantly negative handover from Wall St, where risk appetite was subdued amid private credit fund concerns and geopolitical risks related to the US and Iran following Trump's latest threat and 10-15 day ultimatum.

ASX 200: -0.1%

• Index is lacklustre amid underperformance in the tech, telecoms and consumer sectors, while participants also continue to digest a slew of earnings releases, although downside is stemmed by resilience in utilities and the top-weighted financial industry.

Nikkei 225: -1.1%

• Retreated back beneath the 57,000 level with the index pressured despite recent currency weakness and the softer inflation data, which essentially provides the BoJ with more policy space, while tech and autos are among the industries notably represented in the list of worst-performing stocks.

Hang Seng -0.5%

• Retreated on return from the Lunar New Year holidays with the big tech names leading the declines in the index, while mainland markets and the Stock Connect remain shut and won't open until next Tuesday.

US Equity Futures: +0.2%

• Eked mild gains but with price action contained after the prior day's choppy performance and with key US data on the horizon, including US GDP for Q4 and the Fed's preferred PCE inflation metric.

European Equity Futures +0.3%

• Indicate a positive cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.3% after the cash market closed with losses of 0.7% on Thursday.

Asia-Pacific stocks are mostly lower, reflecting the negative sentiment from Wall Street, driven by concerns over private credit funds and escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran due to recent threats from Trump. This backdrop suggests that risk appetite remains fragile, and market participants are cautious ahead of upcoming US economic data, potentially influencing currency and equity markets further.