Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Tuesday as investors monitored developments in the Iran war, while easing oil prices helped improve sentiment across regional equities.
Attention was also drawn to geopolitical developments after United States President Donald Trump indicated he may delay a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by “a month or so” due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Trump had been expected to travel to China at the end of March.
By 11:55 am AEDT (12:55 am GMT), most major regional benchmarks were trading in positive territory.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%. South Korea’s KOSPI 200 recorded stronger gains, jumping 2.3% during the session.
Among data releases, South Korea’s import prices rose for the eighth consecutive month in February, driven largely by higher global oil prices, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the Bank of Korea.
The country’s import price index increased 1.1% month-on-month in February, accelerating from a 0.4% rise in January and rising 1.2% year-on-year.
The data also showed export prices rising for an eighth straight month, climbing 2.1% from the previous month, and 10.7% year-on-year.
The regional gains followed a positive session on Wall Street overnight, where U.S. equities rebounded after oil prices eased.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8%, while the S&P 500 advanced 1%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2%.
Energy markets also cooled slightly on Monday. Brent crude fell 2.8% to settle at US$100.21 per barrel after surging the previous week amid fears of supply disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.
Safe-haven assets were more mixed. Spot gold edged down 0.3% to settle at US$5,006.57 per ounce.
Elsewhere in Asia, Chinese equities produced mixed results on Monday. The SSE Composite Index slipped 0.3% to close at 4,084.8, while the CSI 300 index edged up 0.1% to finish at 4,671.6.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index posted stronger gains, rising 1.5% to close at 25,834.0. India’s BSE Sensex also advanced, adding 1.3% to finish at 75,502.9.
European markets also ended Monday’s session higher, though gains were modest. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to close at 10,317.7, Germany’s DAX added 0.5% to 23,564.0, and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.3% to finish at 7,936.0.
