HONG KONG (AP) — Stock markets across Asia posted strong gains Friday, following substantial increases on Wall Street, while oil prices declined after President Donald Trump announced progress in negotiations to end the Iran conflict.
U.S. futures showed modest increases.
The Kospi in South Korea soared 7.8% to reach 8,370.82, reducing losses from this month’s earlier selloffs involving artificial intelligence-related stocks. Over the last six months, the Kospi has approximately doubled in value, with its record closing peak of 8.801.49 reached on June 2.
Samsung Electronics, the nation’s highest-valued corporation, increased 11.2%. Memory chip manufacturer SK Hynix climbed 7.2%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 3.5% to 66,442.95, also driven by technology sector gains. SoftBank Group, an international investment firm with significant AI investments, increased 2%. Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron surged 10.3%.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 1.8% to 24,689.32, while Shanghai’s Composite index increased 1.6% to 4,050.51.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 1.9% higher at 8,798.10.
The Taiex in Taiwan rose 2.6%, and India’s Sensex climbed 1.2%.
This surge in investor confidence followed Trump’s Thursday announcement that he had halted military operations against Iran. The president declared that America had achieved “a great settlement of the war with Iran,” stating that an extension of the unstable ceasefire between both nations could be completed “in the next few days.” Limited details were provided.
International markets had declined earlier this week as U.S.-Iran tensions intensified. Rising oil costs have contributed to worldwide inflationary pressures as the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for global oil and gas transportation, has remained mostly blocked.
“Trump has said many times before that a deal is very close, only for hostilities to resume,” ING commodities analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note on Friday. “However, there does appear to be more positive noise around the deal this time.”
“(But) we would be cautious about assuming that the extension of the ceasefire is a done deal,” they added. “Even if it is, it could be fragile.”
Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, dropped 1.7% to $88.87 per barrel in early Friday trading. This remains significantly above the approximately $70 per barrel price before the conflict started in late February.
U.S. benchmark crude decreased 1.6% to $86.33 per barrel.
Thursday saw Wall Street’s S&P 500 benchmark jump 1.8% to 7,394.30, returning to early May levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.9% to 50,848.75, while the tech-focused Nasdaq composite advanced 2.5% to 25,809.66.
AI and technology stock prices have experienced volatility over the past week, partly due to renewed concerns that massive investments and rising share values are forming a bubble that could collapse. Thursday saw U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology rise 11.1%, while technology firm Oracle dropped 8.5% amid concerns about high spending, despite better-than-anticipated quarterly earnings.
Investors domestically and internationally are also anticipating Friday’s major Wall Street debut of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, which is expected to become the largest IPO in history, raising approximately $75 billion.
In early Friday currency trading, the U.S. dollar strengthened to 160.22 Japanese yen from 159.93 yen. The euro traded at $1.1574, declining from $1.1578.
