Asia markets set for mixed open as Iran launches missiles despite signs of temporary truce

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Friday as investors weighed fresh military activity involving Iran against signs that Washington and Tehran were nearing a temporary agreement to halt their three-month conflict.

Iran’s armed forces reportedly fired missiles at unspecified targets late Thursday, according to state media outlet Fars.

The latest military activity in southern Iran came just hours after the Pentagon said Tehran had fired a ballistic missile toward Kuwait and deployed attack drones in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier on Thursday, a White House official confirmed an Axios report saying the U.S. and Iran had “mostly agreed” on the terms of a deal aimed at temporarily halting the three-month conflict.

Japan’sNikkei 225was poised to rise, with the Chicago futures contract at 65,795 and the Osaka counterpart last trading at 65,800 compared with the index’s previous close of 64,693.12.

In Australia, futures last traded higher at 8,675, compared with theS&P/ASX 200‘s last close of 8,592.90.

However, Hong Kong’sHang Seng indexfutures were last down at 24,995, slightly lower than the index’s last close of 25,006.16.