Asian stocks rise, Japanese markets at record highs

Asian markets were broadly higher, with a decline in oil prices also offering markets some relief

Asian stocks rose sharply on Thursday, with Japanese markets reopening at record highs as growing optimism over an Iran-U.S. peace deal spurred gains in risk-driven markets.

S&P 500 Futures steadied in Asian trade. Global stock markets were upbeat after an overnight report said Iran and the U.S. were nearing a deal that will end the war.

Japanese stocks were the best performers for the day, with the Nikkei 225 surging almost 6% to a record high of 62,958.0 points.

The TOPIX gained 3.4%.

Japanese markets rallied in catch-up trade with their Asian peers after an extended holiday since Friday.

The Nikkei was also boosted by gains in tech shares, which rallied on renewed optimism over artificial intelligence. Chipmakers and chip-adjacent stocks– clocked strong gains in tandem with their global peers, while tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. rallied more than 16%.

Japanese markets largely shrugged off strength in the yen, with the currency having firmed sharply in the past week on reported foreign exchange intervention by Tokyo.

South Korean markets lagged on Thursday after hitting a series of record highs on gains in chipmakers. The KOSPI dropped 0.2%, but was sitting on a stellar 71% year-to-date gain, making it the best-performing Asian index this year.

Other Asian markets were broadly higher, with a decline in oil prices also offering markets some relief. Focus was on de-escalation in tensions between Iran and the U.S.

ASX 200 added 0.8%, brushing off data that showed the country logging an unexpected trade deficit in March.

Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes increased nearly 0.2% apiece, while Hang Seng rose 1.5% on gains in tech shares.