U.S. investors disregard Russia-Ukraine tensions, causing oil to increase by 2% and Asian markets to rise.

• On Friday, the Asia-Pacific stock markets mostly rose, with investors evaluating the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict after a significant recovery on Wall Street the previous night.
• On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that Washington will impose new sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, with the aim of isolating the country from the global economy.

On Friday, oil prices increased by 2% and most Asia-Pacific shares rose as investors evaluated the Russia-Ukraine conflict after a significant rebound on Wall Street the previous night.

On Friday, U.S. oil was up 2.51% at $95.14 per barrel in Asia trade, while the international benchmark rose 2.86% to $101.91. However, oil pared gains on Thursday after rising more than 8% on the news of Russia's attack.

Last traded at $1,917.93, up 0.78%, gold has traditionally been a safe haven in times of uncertainty.

In Japan, the Nikkei stock index rose 1.95% to 26,476.50 at the close, while the Topix gained 1% to 1,876.24. Meanwhile, in South Korea, the KOSPI index increased by 1.06% to 2,676.76, and the Kosdaq added 2.92% to 872.98.

In mainland China, the stock market closed at 3,451.41 after adding 0.63%, while Hong Kong's stock market declined by 0.56% in Friday afternoon trade.

The  in Australia was mostly flat, up 0.1%.

After reporting better than expected fourth-quarter profit, Block's shares trading in Australia surged 32.49%. Additionally, the company's main listing on the New York Stock Exchange saw stock prices jump 18% after hours.

Jack Dorsey, the founder and leader of the payments firm, which was previously known as Square, is also the founder of Twitter. On Friday in Asia, Block's share price increased by more than 40%.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index rose by 0.83%.

Sanctions on Russia

On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that Washington will impose new sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, aiming to isolate the country from the global economy. Additionally, the White House has authorized the deployment of more troops to Germany, the president revealed.

The European Union added to its sanctions against Russia and urged the country to cease military activity and withdraw its troops.

Despite Russia's attack on Ukraine, U.S. investors shook off the tension and reversed their losses, closing higher with rising stocks.

Despite falling more than 2.6%, the S&P 500 gained 1.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased an 859-point drop to advance 92.07 points. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite rose 3.3% after declining nearly 3.5% during trading hours.

Currencies

The greenback was last at 96.914 against a basket of its peers, down from 97.137.

The traded at 115.32, while the changed hands at $0.7207.

Bitcoin was up 0.23% at $38,533.12.