Trump says Iran war "close to over" amid hopes for more negotiations
Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Friday amid cautious optimism ahead of ceasefire talks between Iran and the U.S., with regional bourses also headed for a strong weekly performance.
Chinese stocks were among the better performers for the day, even as inflation data for March painted a mixed picture of Asia’s largest economy.
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Regional markets took a positive lead-in from Wall Street, which rose for a seventh consecutive session on Thursday as Israel signaled it will seek a ceasefire with Lebanon. Iran had demanded Lebanon be included in a ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel.
S&P 500 Futures were flat in Asian trade with focus squarely on ceasefire talks between Tehran and Washington, which are scheduled to take place in Pakistan over the coming days.
But both countries head into the talks with deeply divided agendas, while Iran was also yet to confirm it will participate in the talks.
Beyond the ceasefire, focus was also on key U.S. consumer price index inflation data due on Friday.
Asian stocks rise, head for weekly gains on ceasefire hopes
South Korea’s KOSPI was the best performer for the day, rising 1.9% as local technology stocks also caught bids. Local markets showed little reaction to the Bank of Korea leaving interest rates unchanged at 2.50%.
The KOSPI was the best performing Asian market this week, and was headed for a nearly 10% jump. This was also in part due to outsized bargain buying after the KOSPI logged deep losses in March.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.5% on Friday and was headed for a 7% weekly gain. But the TOPIX was flat after data showed a bigger-than-expected increase in Japanese producer inflation in March, stoking fears of energy-driven inflation and interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO:9983) was the best performer in the Nikkei on Friday, after the Uniqlo owner clocked positive earnings and hiked its profit forecast for the fiscal year.
Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.3% but was set for a 4.3% jump this week. Singapore’s Straits Time Index was flat and headed for a 0.7% rise this week.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index fell 0.2%, with the index headed for an over 5% weekly gain.
Asian markets were encouraged by talks of a potential ceasefire in the Iran war, although a long-term peace deal still appeared distant, while oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remained scant.
Regional stocks also benefited from outsized bargain buying after logging steep losses in March.
China stocks rise after mixed CPI, PPI data
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose 1.2% and 0.7%, respectively. The two were also trading up between 3% and 4% this week.
Chinese CPI inflation shrank in March from the prior month, data showed on Friday. The print indicated that a boost to consumer spending during the Lunar New Year holiday did not extend beyond February.
But Chinese producer price index inflation rose more than expected in March, indicating that higher oil prices were spurring some factory gate inflation in the country. While Friday’s data still showed China struggling with deflation, the PPI print pointed to some improvement.