Aerial view of Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Tower and modern skyscrapers in Tokyo on a sunny day.
Yongyuan | E+ | Getty Images
Japan stocks rose more than 4% on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 hitting 62,000 for the first time as Asia-Pacific markets rallied despite renewed tensions in the Middle East.
The broader regional advance came after President Donald Trump warned Iran would be bombed “at a much higher level” if it failed to agree to a peace deal.
The Nikkei 225 advanced 4.18%, led by gains in basic materials, technology and financial stocks. Shares of index heavyweight Softbank surged more than 10%. The Topix added 1.91%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%.
South Korea’s Kospi added 1.17% while the small-cap Kosdaq Index slid 0.4%.
Trump’s fresh threats came as reports suggested Washington and Tehran were nearing an agreement to end the war.
The president in a Truth Social post said the U.S. military offensive known as Operation Epic Fury “will be at an end” if Iran “agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption.”
If that happened, the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman would “allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump wrote.
West Texas Intermediate futures for June was 0.92% higher at $95.95 per barrel as of 7:19 p.m. ET.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 26,423 compared with the index’s last close of 26,213.78.
[/gpt3]
