Asian stocks rose sharply on Thursday, with Japanese markets reopening at record highs as growing optimism over a U.S.-Iran peace deal spurred gains in risk-driven markets.
Regional markets took positive cues from a strong overnight session on Wall Street, with chip stocks also logging strong gains after blockbuster earnings from AMD.
S&P 500 Futures steadied in Asian trade. Global stock markets were upbeat after an overnight report said the U.S. and Iran were nearing a deal that will end the war. This came after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly paused an operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Japanese stocks lead gains, Nikkei at record high
Japanese stocks were the best performers for the day, with the Nikkei 225 surging nearly 6% to a record high of 62,958.0 points.
The TOPIX added 3.4%.
Japanese markets rallied in catch-up trade with their Asian peers after an extended holiday since Friday.
The Nikkei was also boosted by gains in tech shares, which rallied on renewed optimism over artificial intelligence. Chipmakers and chip-adjacent stocks– clocked strong gains in tandem with their global peers, while tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) rallied over 16%.
Japanese markets largely shrugged off strength in the yen, with the currency having firmed sharply in the past week on reported foreign exchange intervention by Tokyo.
S.Korea cools from record highs, Asian markets upbeat
South Korean markets lagged on Thursday after hitting a series of record highs on gains in chipmakers. The KOSPI fell 0.2%, but was sitting on a stellar 71% year-to-date gain, making it the best-performing Asian index this year.
Other Asian markets were broadly higher, with a drop in oil prices also offering regional markets some relief. Focus was squarely on de-escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.8%, brushing off data that showed the country logging an unexpected trade deficit in March.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose about 0.2% apiece, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.5% on gains in tech shares.
Reports showed the U.S. and China considering added AI to the agenda in an upcoming summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing later this month.
Singapore’s Straits Times index rose 0.3%, while futures for India’s Nifty 50 index fell 0.5%.
Source: Investing