Most Asian markets gave up early gains and ended lower on Thursday as reports that the United States had seized at least three Iranian oil tankers in Asian waters raised concerns that the Middle East conflict could drag on.
Stocks in Japan and South Korea hit record highs in early trading, following an overnight rally on Wall Street after President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran, boosting investor sentiment along with strong corporate earnings.
The U.S. military has seized at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and diverted them from positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security officials said Wednesday.
This follows the Iranian Navy’s announcement that it had seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump on Tuesday extended the U.S. ceasefire by two weeks, saying it was justified because of “deep divisions” in Iran’s government.
“Not unexpectedly, given the fact that the Iranian government is deeply divided, and at the request of Pakistan’s General Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, we have been asked to halt attacks against Iran until our leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
President Trump said the ceasefire would remain in place until Iran submits a proposal or talks conclude, while the U.S. military will continue to blockade Iranian ports.
However, the schedule remains uncertain. Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Iranian negotiators would not attend the talks with the United States, calling them a “waste of time.” The lack of Iranian engagement reportedly caused Vice President J.D. Vance to suspend his visit to participate in peace negotiations.
West Texas Intermediate futures were up 1.33% at $94.20 a barrel as of 2:31 a.m. ET. Brent crude oil rose 1.21% to $103.50 per barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average ended Thursday’s trading 0.75% lower at 59,140.23, after hitting an intraday high of $60,013.98 in early trading.
Japan’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in four years in April as companies ramped up production amid supply concerns related to tensions in the Middle East, according to the S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index.
index heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp. It closed 3.86% higher at 5,867. Bloomberg reports that the company is taking on more debt for its AI push and is seeking a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI holdings.
Korean Kospi It hit an intraday high of 6,538.72 in early trading and ended 0.90% higher at 6,475.81. The small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.58% to 1,174.31. The country’s economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of this year, marking the highest growth since the third quarter of 2020.
The 1.7% quarter-on-quarter increase in the January-March period exceeded Reuters’ forecast of 1.0% and recovered from the 0.2% decline in the previous quarter.
Samsung Electronics shares hit a new intraday record of 227,000 shares in early trading, closing the day up more than 3%. Investors were also keeping an eye on labor trends, as the company’s union expects more than 30,000 workers to attend a rally in South Korea on Thursday ahead of a planned strike next month.
australian S&P/ASX 200 It traded volatilely, falling 0.57% to 8,793.40.
Mainland China’s CSI300 index fell 0.28% to 4,786.33, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.92% in the hour before the close.
indian nifty 50 The stock was down 0.67% as of 3:40 a.m. ET.
S&P500 futures While the decline was 0.1%, Nasdaq 100 futures It was near the flatline. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell by 173 points (0.4%).
During Wednesday’s regular meeting, S&P500 It added 1.05% to end at 7,137.90. Nasdaq It was settled at 24,657.57 with an addition of 1.64%. The latter hit a new intraday high during the session.
on the other hand, Dow Jones Industrial Average It advanced 340.65 points (0.69%) to end the day at 49,490.03.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
