Precise Investors Editorial Team
MSCI’s benchmark Asia Pacific Index gained as much as 1%
Asian stocks advanced at the end of another volatile week fuelled by the West Asia war. Trading is set to be muted with a number of markets shut for holidays.
MSCI’s benchmark Asia Pacific Index gained as much as 1%. Stocks rallied after oil prices eased off their highs following a report that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, having effectively shut it down since the start of the war.
The improvement in US risk appetite has spilled over into regional equities, said Hitoshi Asaoka, chief strategist at Asset Management One Co in Tokyo. While oil prices may not fully return to previous levels, if they do partially normalise, there is considerable room for a rebound from a liquidity perspective.
Asian markets closed Friday include Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The upshot is that markets remain uncertain as to how long the acute disruptions we are seeing to global energy supplies will persist, James McCann, a senior economist at Edward Jones wrote in a note. Against this backdrop, sentiment will likely remain headline-driven in coming sessions, with volatility likely to remain elevated over the short term at least.
Oil rallied above US$110 a barrel Thursday after U.S. president vowed an escalation in the war in Iran over the coming weeks. The global Brent benchmark settled near US$109. Europe’s diesel futures benchmark jumped above US$200 a barrel for the first time since 2022.
Elsewhere, US stock markets will be shut for a holiday for Good Friday, though the government is still scheduled to publish a slate of economic data, including the March nonfarm payrolls report.
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