SINGAPORE – Financial markets across Asia celebrated Wednesday morning as stocks climbed to unprecedented levels following President Donald Trump’s announcement of substantial advancement toward a “final agreement” with Iran, combined with continued investor excitement over artificial intelligence technology.
Trump revealed plans to temporarily halt ship escort operations through the critical Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that handles approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply and has faced Iranian blockades since February’s end, creating a worldwide energy shortage.
This development caused Brent crude oil to plummet 1.2% to $108.51 per barrel, while S&P 500 electronic mini-futures climbed 0.3%.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific stock index excluding Japan rocketed 2.3% to an all-time high, driven by South Korea’s Kospi index which skyrocketed 5.1%, breaking through the 7,000 threshold for the first time in history.
“Markets embraced a sense of calm and stability overnight, with the risk of escalation in the Middle East conflict viewed as having diminished after U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ensured the ceasefire was still in place, despite the U.S. and Iran trading blows yesterday,” Westpac analysts explained in their research report.
“This put some wind in the sails for risk sentiment, supporting a rebound in equities across the U.S. and Europe at the same time as crude oil prices partially unwound yesterday’s climb,” they added.
Wall Street also achieved new milestones Tuesday with the S&P 500 advancing 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite increasing 1%.
“Investors bought and continue to add to positioning in the 2026 winners,” explained Chris Weston, research chief at Melbourne’s Pepperstone Group Ltd. “There has been some buying in S&P 500 materials stocks, but it’s tech that continues to attract the bulk of flows, notably in Apple and the memory plays.”
When Seoul’s market resumed trading after a holiday break, Samsung Electronics skyrocketed 12%, achieving over $1 trillion in market capitalization, surpassing Berkshire Hathaway and approaching Walmart’s valuation.
“Due to the capex spend we are seeing from hyperscalers in the U.S., the earnings growth trajectory for sectors such as semiconductors, tech hardware, industrials and materials in Asia exceeds anything I have seen in a long-time,” stated Rushil Khanna, who leads equity investments for Asia at Ostrum, a Natixis Investment Managers affiliate.
“This capex is leading to material value creation in Asia as the provider of the picks and shovels to the AI ecosystem,” Khanna noted.
Advanced Micro Devices shares surged 16.5% in after-hours trading following the company’s Tuesday forecast of second-quarter revenue exceeding Wall Street projections, driven by strong demand for its specialized processors as cloud computing firms increase AI infrastructure investments.
Currency markets saw the U.S. dollar index, tracking the greenback against six major currencies, end its three-day rally with a 0.1% decline to 98.236.
The euro reached $1.1724 while the British pound hit $1.3577, both gaining roughly 0.3% during the trading session.
Australia’s currency rose to $0.7227, climbing about 0.6% to its strongest level since June 2022, supported by increased risk appetite and Tuesday’s third consecutive interest rate increase.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield remained unchanged at 4.424%.
Gold prices increased 1.2% to $4,609.59. In digital currencies, bitcoin declined 0.9% to $80,881.12, while ethereum dropped 1% to $2,358.09.
