Asian markets rebounded after the previous day’s steep losses as investors reacted to comments from Donald Trump suggesting the conflict involving Iran could be nearing an end.
Oil markets remained unsettled, however. After Trump suggested the war could end soon, Brent crude dropped to about $88 a barrel before rebounding above $93 as Iranian officials pushed back against expectations of a quick resolution.
A spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ali Mohammad Naini, said in response to Trump’s remarks that “Iran will determine when the war ends.”
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 2.6% to 54,086.98 after revised data showed the country’s economy grew faster than previously estimated in the final quarter of last year. The economy expanded at an annualised pace of 1.3%, compared with the initial estimate of 0.2%.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1% to 8,692.60, while South Korea’s KOSPI surged 5.6% to 5,544.62.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.1% to 25,935.32, and China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.6% to 4,120.01.
On Wall Street, stocks reversed earlier losses and closed higher after Trump told CBS News the conflict was “very complete, pretty much”. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4%.
