Asian stocks surged on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that a peace deal with Iran is imminent, resulting in a sharp recovery for major tech companies and chipmakers following recent losses.
Regional markets bounced back from the overnight rally on Wall Street after Trump announced that a deal to end the war with Iran is close and could be signed as early as this weekend. His words triggered a strong rally in risk assets, especially tech stocks.
S&P 500 futures rose by 0.2% during Asian trading, with all eyes on the debut of SpaceX stock (NASDAQ:SPCX) after the rocket company led by Elon Musk conducted a massive $75 billion IPO on Thursday.
The sharp drop in oil prices — after Trump stated that the deal with Iran includes the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz — also supported Asian stocks.
KOSPI and Nikkei are leading the gains amid a tech sector recovery.
The South Korean KOSPI emerged as the best performer in Asia, gaining over 8% thanks to strong stock growth from major chip manufacturers. The Japanese Nikkei 225 also rose by 3.5% on a similar backdrop.
The chip manufacturing sector has recouped much of last week’s losses: earlier fears regarding war with Iran and rising interest rates triggered a wave of profit-taking in this high-yield sector.
The debut of SpaceX stock trading on NASDAQ, scheduled for later today, will be closely monitored as a benchmark for the tech sector — especially since the company's massive listing comes amid growing investor concerns over inflated valuations in tech companies.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng index also rose due to gains in local tech and internet companies.
Shares of Alibaba Group (HK:9988) gained 2% after Bloomberg reported that the company plans to offer $1.5 billion for Chinese online grocery retailer Pupu — as part of efforts to strengthen its position in the online food retail market.
Asian markets are rising on Trump's statements about peace with Iran.
Asian markets, in general, showed an uptick on optimism regarding a potential US-Iran peace deal, despite ongoing doubts about its achievement and continued clashes in the Middle East.
Iranian media reported that Tehran has not made a final decision regarding the agreement.
The Japanese TOPIX index rose by 1.7%, with attention shifting to next week's Bank of Japan meeting, where the regulator is increasingly expected to raise interest rates amid rising inflation driven by energy prices.
The Australian ASX 200 rose by 1.8% ahead of next week's Reserve Bank of Australia meeting, where markets generally expect rates to remain unchanged. However, the regulator is likely to maintain a hawkish stance after three consecutive rate hikes amid persistent inflation.
Chinese indices Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite each rose by 1.6%, while the Singapore Straits Times index added 0.5%.
Indian Nifty 50 futures rose by 0.1%.