Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Thursday, following gains on Wall Street as investor optimism grew over the prospect of a diplomatic resolution to the United States-Iran conflict.
Regional equities have rallied throughout the week, supported by expectations that tensions between Washington and Tehran could ease.
U.S. President Donald Trump reinforced this optimism, stating in a Fox Business interview that the Iran war is “very close to over”, adding that Tehran is keen to “make a deal very badly”.
A White House official also confirmed that discussions around a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran are ongoing, although no formal schedule has been set.
By 10:45 am AEDT (12:45 am GMT), major regional indices were posting gains. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.3%, and South Korea’s KOSPI 200 climbed 1.4%.
Investors are also focused on upcoming economic data, with Australia’s employment report due for release at 11:30 am AEST.
Markets are expecting employment growth of around 20,000, a slowdown from the previous reading of 48,900, which could provide fresh insight into the resilience of the domestic labour market.
Overnight in the United States, major indices closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached fresh record highs, gaining 0.8% and 1.6%, respectively.
In commodities, Brent crude prices edged up 0.2% to US$94.93 per barrel, while spot gold declined 1% to US$4,790.69 per ounce.
Across other global markets, China’s SSE Composite Index ended flat, while the CSI 300 declined 0.3%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3%, and India’s BSE Sensex advanced 1.6%.
European markets closed mixed in the previous session. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%, Germany’s DAX edged up 0.1%, and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.6%.
