Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened significantly higher following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran. Under the terms of the deal, the US and Israel will suspend military operations in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
At the time of writing, Japan's Topix index had risen 2.81% to 3,756.76 points, while the Nikkei 225 index surged 4.51% to 55,837.91 points. South Korea's KOSPI composite stock index jumped 5.33% to 5,787.76 points.
The rally in South Korean equities was primarily driven by substantial gains in the memory chip sector. SK Hynix, a dominant player in the HBM memory market and one of South Korea's largest listed companies, saw its shares surge nearly 10%. Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip manufacturer and the heaviest-weighted stock on the KOSPI, climbed more than 6%.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. advanced 2.85%, making it the largest contributor to the Topix's gains. Within the index, 1,514 components rose, 39 fell, and 99 remained unchanged.
Following the ceasefire news, the Japanese yen strengthened against the US dollar. Market strategist Masahiro Ichikawa from Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management noted that the inclusion of reopening the Strait of Hormuz as a ceasefire condition by the Trump administration was "unexpected." Ichikawa stated, "Although the ceasefire lasts only two weeks, it will clearly boost investor sentiment."
Daiwa Asset Management strategist Kazunori Tatebe suggested that even a two-week truce raises expectations for substantive progress during that period. He indicated that market attention is likely to return to cyclical sectors, artificial intelligence, and non-ferrous metals—areas previously sold off due to the Iran conflict.
Comments