Japan's Nikkei 225 tops 62,000 for the first time as Asia markets look past Trump’s Iran threats
Asia-Pacific markets jumped on Thursday.
Trump stated military action could end if Tehran accepted a deal. This also touches on aspects of earnings report.
Wall Street hit record highs as investors focused on diplomacy. Furthermore, experts in wall street note the continued relevance.
Japan stocks rose more than 5% on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 hitting 62,000 for the first time as Asia-Pacific markets rallied despite renewed tensions in the Middle East.
The broader regional advance came after President Donald Trump warned Iran would be bombed “at a much higher level” if it failed to agree to a peace deal.
The Nikkei 225 advanced 5%, led by gains in basic materials, software and financial stocks. Shares of index heavyweight Softbank surged more than 13%.
Electronics business Ibiden was the top performer, climbing 17%, while manufacturing and metals enterprise Mitsui Kinzoku gained 16%. Renesas Electronics also added 13%, and chemical and materials firm Tosoh Corporation soared 12%.
The Topix also advanced 2.37%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%.
South Korea’s Kospi reversed gains, falling 0.68%, while the small-cap Kosdaq Index slid 0.56%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.47% while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged 0.38% higher.
Trump’s fresh threats came as reports suggested Washington and Tehran were nearing an agreement to end the war.
The president in a Truth Social post said the U.S. military offensive known as Operation Epic Fury “will be at an end” if Iran “agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a significant assumption.”
If that happened, the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman would “allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump wrote.
West Texas Intermediate futures for June was 0.92% higher at $95.95 per barrel as of 7:19 p.m. ET.
U.S. stock futures were little changed. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both slid about 0.1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35 points, or less than 0.1%.
The S&P 500 advanced 1.46% to 7,365.12, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.02% and ended at 25,838.94. Both indexes touched updated highs and closed at records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 612.34 points, or 1.24%, to close at 49,910.59.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.