Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday as investors weighed developments in the Middle East following an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran, while lingering uncertainty over the durability of the deal kept sentiment uneven.
By 11:50 am AEST (1:50 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 had slipped 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.7% to fresh record highs. South Korea’s KOSPI also advanced 0.3%, reaching new record levels.
Sentiment across the region was shaped by optimism around easing geopolitical tensions, although caution remained as markets assessed whether the agreement would hold.
In individual stocks, South Korea’s SK Hynix surged 3.3% to a record high after announcing it had supplied samples of its next-generation 12-layer HBM4E memory chip to key customers.
The company said the chip delivers data transfer speeds of up to 16 gigabits per second per pin and improves power efficiency by more than 20% compared with previous models.
U.S. equity benchmarks closed lower overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1%, the S&P 500 slipping 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite declining 1.3% as investors reacted to Federal Reserve signals pointing to potential future rate hikes.
In commodities, ICE Brent crude rose 0.8% to US$79.55 per barrel, while spot gold fell 1.7% to US$4,256.82 per ounce as risk sentiment improved following the geopolitical developments.
Chinese equities were broadly firmer on Wednesday, with the Shanghai Composite rising 0.4% to 4,108.1 and the CSI 300 gaining 1% to 4,931.4.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.7% to 24,312.2, while India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.5% to reach multi-week highs of 77,155.6.
European markets ended the previous session mixed. The UK’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 10,508.6, Germany’s DAX gained 0.1% to 24,934.7, and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.2% to 8,430.8.
