Nikkei 225, Kospi, Hang Seng Index
A currency trader monitors exchange rates in the trading room of the Korea Foreign Exchange Bank in Seoul
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets will be mostly lower on Thursday after Iran signaled it has no intention of holding direct talks with the United States as Tehran reviews America’s proposal to end the war, according to the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister.
According to Reuters, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the exchange of messages between the two countries through mediators “does not mean negotiations with the United States.”
Earlier Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that the country would reject a U.S. ceasefire offer and set its own conditions for ending the war.
Thierry Wizman, Macquarie Group’s global foreign exchange and interest rate strategist, said a ceasefire is not imminent.
“More accurately, the United States, which is trying to push Iran to make significant concessions, will likely intensify its military actions in the next two weeks, perhaps in mid-April, before major combat operations are successful,” Wizman said.
“The war may now enter its third phase of ‘talk and fight’ rather than just talk or just fight,” he wrote in a memo.
of Australia S&P/ASX 200 It was flat in early trading.
of japan Nikkei 225 The futures contract in Chicago was poised to fall at 53,520 and the Osaka contract was at 53,600, compared with the index’s previous close of 53,749.62.
of hong kong Hang Seng index Futures were at 25,268 compared to the index’s last close of 25,335.95.
Oil prices remained flat during Asian trading hours. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.72% to $91 a barrel.
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 305.43 points, or 0.66%, to close at 46,429.49 points. The S&P 500 index increased by 0.54% to 6,591.90 points, and the Nasdaq Composite index increased by 0.77% to 21,929.83 points.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
