Asia-Pacific markets rebound with Kospi jumping 5% as Trump says Iran war could end in weeks – CNBC
Asia-Pacific markets rebounded Wednesday after statements from U.S. President Donald Trump raised hopes that the Iran war could end soon.
On Tuesday stateside, Trump said the U.S. could leave Iran in “two or three weeks,” adding “We leave because there’s no reason for us to do this.”
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down 3.5% at $97.79 a barrel as of 3 a.m. ET, while Brent contract for June delivery had tumbled 4.8% to $98.56 a barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi led gains in the region, surging 8.44% and ending at 5,478.7. The gain was the Kospi’s largest gain since March 5, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 6.06% to close at 1,116.18.
This came after data showed South Korean exports in March jumped 48.3% from a year earlier, beating Reuters poll estimates of 44.9%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 5.24% to 53,739.68, led by financial stocks, while the broad-based Topix added 4.95% and ended at 3,670.9.
The Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey for the first quarter of 2026, which measures business sentiment, showed optimism among large Japanese manufacturers rising to 17 from 15. That beat expectations of 16 from economists polled by Reuters and reached its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2021.
Large non-manufacturers’ business sentiment stood at 36, unchanged from the previous quarter and above Reuters poll expectations of 33.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.88% in its final hour of trade, powered by basic materials stocks, while mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 1.71% to end at 4,526.06.
According to a private survey, China’s manufacturing activity slowed in February. The RatingDog PMI came in at 50.8 in February, missing Reuters-polled analysts’ forecast for 51.6 and slowing from a more than 5-year high of 52.1 in February.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 2.24% and finished at 8,671.8, driven by a rise in educational services stocks.
India’s Nifty 50 was up 2.14%, while the Sensex had gained 2.56% as of 1:30 p.m. local time (4:00 am ET).
U.S. futures also ticked higher, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures up 0.16% and 0.24%, respectively. Dow futures rose 44 points, or 0.09%.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes posted their best day since May, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2.49%.
The S&P 500 gained 2.91%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.83%.
The moves followed an unconfirmed report that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was open to ending the war with guarantees.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Sarah Min and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
