BANGKOK (AP) — Share prices soared Monday in Asia after a tentative deal was announced on ending the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul initially gained more than 5% early Monday. Oil prices fell more than $4 a barrel.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%, auguring likely early gains for Wall Street.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the initial agreement and authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran confirmed it but signaled that implementation would not start until a signing that Pakistan said would be held Friday in Switzerland. Broader negotiations on issues like Iran’s nuclear program are expected to continue over the next 60 days.
In early trading Monday, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell $3.61 to $83.64 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude lost $4.27 to $80.61 per barrel.
But it may take months for oil prices to stabilize after the disruptions from the war caused them to surge, pushing costs up gasoline and many other products. Energy experts said shipping and insurance companies will want to be confident the pact will hold, ensuring that oil and gas supplies will flow freely enough for the world’s needs to be met.
“The reopening of Hormuz is a relief valve, not a full peace dividend. The market can remove some crude panic, but it still has to price the gap between a headline, a signature, and a regime that actually complies,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report.
Still, the news was a huge relief for markets that have been roiled since the conflict began in late February.
The deal on ending the war offers relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began.
Stocks rallied in Asia, where Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 5.4% to 69,603.91 as the benchmark logged another record high.
Buying was heaviest for technology shares, especially those related to artificial intelligence. The boom in AI has been driving gains in Japan, where the benchmark has gained more than 80% in the last year.
“This is great news," said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex. “Buying by foreign investors is leading the market with expectations of easing tensions around the situation in the Middle East. Then the decline in New York crude oil futures is supporting this positive market.”
The Kospi in Seoul surged 4.9% to 8,517.93.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.6% to 24,867.94, while the Shanghai Composite index was up 1.1% to 4,073.08.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.4% to 8,922.90. Taiwan's Taiex was up 2.5%.
On Friday, U.S. stocks as Musk's SpaceX soared in its highly anticipated debut on Wall Street.
The strong debut suggested plenty of demand still exists among investors for AI after its stock leaped 19.2% in its first day of trading. That gave Elon Musk’s rocket company a total value of $2.1 trillion, making it bigger than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and Coca-Cola combined. In addition to building rockets, SpaceX also owns the artificial intelligence company xAI.
The S&P 500 added 0.5% to close out its 10th winning week in the last 11. The Dow industrials climbed 353 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.
This week will bring interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan is due to announce its monetary policy updates. It is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate to 1% from the current 0.75%.
That would be the highest rate in more than 30 years.
In other dealings early Monday, the dollar rose to 160.20 Japanese yen from 160.12 yen late Friday. The euro climbed to $1.1595 from $1.1578.
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Senior producer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
