Asia-Pacific markets rebound with Kospi jumping 5% as Trump says Iran war could end in weeks
IBARAKI, JAPAN – JUNE 17: On June 17, 2004, Renesas Technology Corp. in Ibaraki, Japan. Technicians working in the clean room of semiconductor company Fab Equipment. Renesas is the first company in the world to produce semiconductor products from 300mm wafers. (Photo: Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)
Koichi Kamoshida | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rebounded on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump raised hopes that the Iran war could end soon.
In the US on Tuesday, Trump said the US could leave Iran in “two or three weeks”, adding: “We’re leaving because there’s no reason for us to do that.”
U.S. crude oil futures rose 0.44% to $101.81 per barrel as of 7:40 p.m.
South Korea’s kospi It led gains in the region, rising nearly 5% in early trading, while small-cap Kosdaq gained 4.13%. Stocks rose in March as South Korean exports rose 48.3% year-on-year, compared with a Reuters poll forecast of 44.9%.
of japan Nikkei 225 it also gained 3.51%, with the broad-based Topix gaining 3.17%.
The Bank of Japan has released its Tankan survey for the first quarter of 2026, measuring business sentiment among major Japanese companies.
Trade optimism among major Japanese producers rose to 17 from 15, beating economists’ expectations of 16 in a Reuters poll, reaching its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2021.
Business confidence for non-major manufacturers remained at 36, the highest level in recent years, according to LSEG data. last quarter’s revised 36.
This also beat the 33 expectations of a Reuters poll.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.76%, driven by the rise in educational services stocks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were last traded at 25,191, compared with the HSI’s last close of 24,788.14.
Overnight in the US, all three major indexes recorded their best day since May; The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.49%.
S&P 500 gained 2.91% and Nasdaq Composite gained 3.83%.
These moves follow an unconfirmed report that Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian is open to ending the war with guarantees.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Sarah Min and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
