Asian stocks rise sharply; Japan, S. Korea rally

KOSPI and Nikkei 225 indexes were the best performers in Asia, adding more than 5% each

Asian stocks rose sharply on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a tentative two-week ceasefire, with Japanese and South Korean markets leading gains.

Strength in technology shares, especially chipmakers, also benefited Asian markets following a strong first-quarter forecast from Samsung Electronics.

S&P 500 Futures climbed more than 2% after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday evening that the U.S. will postpone planned attacks on Iran by two weeks, following attempts to broker peace.

Separately, Iran said it was open to ending hostilities and that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was also possible.

KOSPI and Nikkei 225 indexes were the best performers in Asia, adding more than 5% each.

Gains in tech and chip stocks also benefited the two, after memory chip giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd forecast an eightfold increase in its first quarter profit on soaring artificial intelligence-fuelled demand. Samsung climbed over 6%, while peer SK Hynix Inc rallied nearly 11%.

Japanese and South Korean markets also benefited from outsized bargain buying after largely lagging their peers through March. The KOSPI in particular was a major laggard, losing nearly 20% in March.

Broader Asian stocks rose sharply, with Chinese markets also logging strong gains. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes surged 2.3% and 1.4%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose nearly 3%.

ASX 200 climbed 2.5%, while Straits Times index rose 0.9%. Futures for Nifty 50 index rallied over 3%, with focus on a Reserve Bank of India meeting later in the day.

Asian markets were encouraged by a sharp drop in oil prices– with Brent tumbling over 13% to $94.97 a barrel– after the U.S. and Iran signalled openness to a ceasefire.