Asia-Pacific markets rise amid worries over Strait of Hormuz staying largely closed – CNBC

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Friday, though a fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran keeps investors on tenterhooks with oil prices remaining volatile.

The conflict in the Middle East, now in its second month, led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and traffic continues to be largely restricted via the crucial energy waterway despite the ceasefire.

Tehran had said it would reopen the strait as long as all attacks on the country were halted, according to a statement from its foreign minister. Media reports said that Israel had also agreed to the ceasefire. That followed U.S. President Donald Trump pausing attacks on Iran on Tuesday.

Trump said Thursday that Iran “better stop now” if it was charging fees to oil tankers for allowing them passage through the strait, while Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, charged the U.S. on Wednesday of violating the ceasefire agreement.

The West Texas Intermediate gained 1.72% to $99.55 per barrel as of 3:40 a.m. ET. Brent crude rose by 1.80% to $97.65 per barrel.

“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.84% to 56,924.11, while the Topix closed flat. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday that the country plans to release 20 days’ worth of oil reserves from May onwards, Reuters reported. Japan had enough oil reserves for 230 days as of April 6.

China’s CSI 300 ended Friday’s session at 4,636.57, gaining 1.54%. China’s factory-gate prices rose for the first time in more than three years, while the consumer price index climbed 1% in March from a year earlier. The Hang Seng Index was 0.47% higher as of its last hour of trade.

South Korea’s Kospi ended Friday’s trading session 1.40% higher at 5,858.87, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.64% to finish at 1,093.63.

India’s Nifty 50 as well as the BSE Sensex were up nearly 1% as of 3:40 a.m. ET.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day marginally lower at 0.14%.

Overnight on Wall Street,  oil prices came off their highs of the day while the S&P 500 traded into the green.

The S&P 500 ended the session at 6,824.66, adding 0.62%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.83% to 22,822.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 275.88 points, or 0.58%, and settled at 48,185.80. The 30-stock index turned positive for the year, up 0.25%.

— Anniek Bao, Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to the report