Asian stock markets are expected to open lower as oil prices continue to rise due to the Iran conflict

Asian stock markets are expected to open lower on Thursday, with Japanese and Hong Kong stock index futures showing weaker opening, Australian stock market falling more than 1%, and S&P 500 index futures falling 0.9%. Oil prices rose for the second consecutive day, as the escalation of comments related to the Iran conflict raised concerns in the market about the prolonged conflict, offsetting the impact of the emergency release of crude oil reserves by wealthy countries.