Low-angle view of Tokyo’s skyscrapers showing a variety of architectural styles
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Asia-Pacific markets rallied on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to halt plans to attack Iranian infrastructure for two weeks.
The move is “conditional on the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the full, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post to X on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council that Tehran’s military would “cease defensive operations.”
President Trump noted that the two-week ceasefire is conditional on Iran agreeing to the full, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi said cooperation with Iranian forces would allow safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for the next two weeks.
U.S. crude oil prices plummeted on the news. West Texas Intermediate fell more than 16% to $94.71 a barrel by 2:40 a.m. ET. Brent, the international benchmark, fell more than 14.9% to $93 per barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi rose about 7% to close at 5,872.34, while the small-cap Kosdaq also rose 5.12% to close at 1,089.85.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average The increase increased by 5.39% to close at 56,308.42, while TOPIX rose 3.32% to 3,775.3.
China’s CSI300 closed 3.49% higher on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 2.95% as of 3:05 a.m. ET after trading resumed after the holiday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 2.55% to 8,951.8.
indian nifty 50 Increased by 3.65%.
“For a long time, energy prices were destined for quite a bit of inflation around the world,” said Josh Rubin, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investments. “And now, if there’s some belief or expectation that energy prices could fall again, that’s better for inflation, better for things like the prospect of central bank interest rate cuts.”
Futures, which track the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose 718 points, or 1.5%. S&P 500 futures rose 1.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.7%.
In overnight trading in the US, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.08% to close at 6,616.85, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.10% to settle at 22,017.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 85.42 points, or 0.18%, to close at 46,584.46.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
