The dominant macro driver heading into Friday's Asia open is the sharp re-pricing of energy risk tied to Middle East escalation, with Brent crude surging 4.51% to $83.03/bbl and WTI up 3.42% to $77.79/bbl — levels that, combined with the World Bank's 2026 global GDP growth forecast cut to 2.5%, signal markets are pricing a sustained supply disruption premium rather than a transient spike. US Treasuries held relatively firm, with the 10-year yield unchanged at 4.63% and the 2-year easing 2bp to 4.18% — a curve dynamic that reflects demand for duration as a partial geopolitical hedge even as the energy shock complicates the inflation outlook ahead of tonight's US payrolls print (forecast: +85K vs. prior 57K). Gold extended its bid to $4,303.70/oz (+1.36%), underscoring the breadth of the risk-off impulse in hard assets. The VIX fell 4.30% to 15.13, however, suggesting US equity participants are not yet pricing systemic stress, even as energy and commodity volatility dominates cross-asset flows. Asia-Pacific faces concentrated exposure on multiple fronts: USD/JPY pushed to 158.49 (+0.56%), a move that reflects both dollar demand from energy import hedging and ongoing BoJ normalization uncertainty, keeping Japanese import-cost pressures elevated despite the Nikkei's 3.66% rally. The CNY fix held near multi-month highs with USD/CNY at 6.7483, reflecting PBOC's calibrated management amid an uneven domestic recovery. Australian energy exporters face a mixed signal — Brent's surge is nominally positive for LNG revenues, but the ASX Energy sector fell 2.22% and LNG JKM eased 1.23% to $20.92/MMBtu, suggesting spot Asia gas markets are not yet repricing at the same pace as crude. Korean and Taiwanese equity markets posted the strongest regional gains (KOSPI +3.76%, TWSE +2.88%), driven by tech and semiconductor exposure, but remain vulnerable to any deterioration in China demand or further dollar strength weighing on KRW (1,423.16, +0.14%).