Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks followed their US peers lower in early trading Friday, with oil prices in focus on growing fears that the war in Iran will further crimp energy supplies and boost inflation. Brent oil traded near $100 a barrel as both US President Donald Trump and Iran's new supreme leader struck defiant tones, with the latter saying the Strait of Hormuz should remain shut. Preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons and threatening the Middle East is "of far greater interest and importance to me" than the cost of oil, Trump said in a social media post. For more on the market action, we spoke to Winnie Hsu, Bloomberg's Asia Equities Reporter.

And for more analysis on how the conflict in the Middle East is weighing on the equity market, we heard from Garry Evans, Head of Research Solutions at BCA Research. He spoke to Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Avril Hong on the Asia Trade.