CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid renewed optimism about a potential peace deal between the US and Iran after US President Trump said the US was in the final stages of negotiations with Iran. Tumbling crude oil prices on hopes of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz also eased global inflationary pressures. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.
Saudia Arabia's state news agency Al-Hadath reported that Pakistan could announce the final draft of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, and added that intensive work is underway to finalize the text of agreement.
The IRGC stated that 26 ships, which coordinated with the Iranian authorities, were let to pass through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours.
The Middle East conflict entered day number 83 today, leaving the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed. A third of the world's fertilizer supply passing through the strait has halted and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned that this could trigger a severe global food price crisis.
The Australian market is trading sharply higher on Thursday, reversing the losses in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,600 level, with gains in mining, financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 139.50 points or 1.64 percent to 8,636.10, after touching a high of 8,649.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 141.10 points or 1.62 percent to 8,858.10. Australian stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining more than 2 percent and Fortescue is edging up 0.5 percent, while BHP Group and Mineral Resources are advancing almost 3 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is declining almost 3 percent, Woodside Energy is losing almost 2 percent, Santos is down almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is edging up 0.1 percent and Zip is advancing more than 4 percent, while Xero is losing more than 1 percent and Appen is down almost 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 2 percent, while Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank is advancing more than 2 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is advancing almost 4 percent, Newmont is gaining more than 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is adding almost 2 percent and Resolute Mining is rising more than 3 percent, while Northern Star Resources is losing almost 1 percent.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.2. That's down from 51.3 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI fell to 47.7 in May from 50.7 in April, while composite PMI dropped to 47.8 from 50.4.
Meanwhile, Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.5 percent in April, above both the previous month and market expectations of 4.3 percent. It was the highest level since last September. The number of unemployed rose by 33,000 to 692,500 from 659,500 in March. Employment unexpectedly fell by 18,600 to 14.74 million, defying estimates for a 17,500 increase.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.711 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply higher on Thursday, snapping a five-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging 3.6 percent to near the 61,950 level, with gains across most sectors led by financial and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 61,945.34, up 2,140.93 points or 3.58 percent, after touching a high of 61,964.64 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is skyrocketing almost 20 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 2 percent and Honda is advancing almost 3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 6 percent and Screen Holdings is adding almost 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing more than 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding more than 4 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 3 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are surging almost 5 percent each, while Canon is edging up 0.3 percent. Sony is down more than 1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Socionext is skyrocketing more than 13 percent and Ibiden is soaring almost 12 percent, while TDK, Murata Manufacturing and Fuji Electric are jumping more than 8 percent each. Yaskawa Electric, Renesas Electronics and Lasertec are surging almost 8 percent each, while Resonac Holdings and Disco are advancing almost 7 percent each. Mitsui Kinzoku and Tokuyama are gaining almost 6 percent each, while IHI is adding more than 5 percent.
Conversely, Sompo Holdings is tumbling more than 7 percent and Japan Steel Works is declining more than 3 percent, while Nintendo, BANDAI NAMCO, Konami Group and Toho are losing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the value of core machinery orders in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 9.4 percent on month in March, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 1,010.9 billion yen. That missed forecasts for a decline of 7.7 percent after jumping 13.6 percent in February. On a yearly basis, orders added 5.9 percent - beating expectations for a gain of 4.5 percent following the 24.7 percent spike in the previous month.
For the first quarter of 2026, orders were up 6.4 percent on quarter and 12.6 percent on year at 3,109.2 billion yen. For the second quarter, orders are expected to rise 0.3 percent on quarter and 8.5 percent on year.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance said Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 301.9 billion yen in April. That blew away forecasts for a deficit of 29.7 billion yen following the 643.0 billion yen surplus in March.
Exports were up 14.8 percent on year to 10.507 trillion yen, beating expectations for an increase of 9.3 percent and up from 11.5 percent in the previous month. Imports added an annual 9.7 percent versus expectations for a gain of 8.3 percent following the 10.9 percent increase a month earlier.
Additionally, the S&P Global Japan Manufacturing PMI declined to 54.5 in May 2026 from 55.1 in April, which was the highest reading since January 2022 and in line with market forecasts. Looking ahead, business confidence remained positive.
Japan's S&P Global Services PMI edged down to 50.0 in May 2026 from a final 51.0 in the previous month. The reading marked the weakest level since March 2025 and signaled stagnation in services activity for the first time in more than a year.
Japan's S&P Global Composite PMI slipped to 51.1 in May from a final 52.2 in the previous month. It marked the slowest private-sector growth since December, but extended the expansion streak to 14 months.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are surging 6.6 and 3.5 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and Singapore are higher by between 0.4 and 0.8 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is down 1.5 percent. Malaysia is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, regaining ground after trending lower over the past few sessions. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside on the day.
The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq surged 399.65 points or 1.5 percent to 26,270.36, the Dow shot up 645.47 points or 1.3 percent to 50,009.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.36 points or 1.1 percent to 7,432.97.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.7 percent, the German DAX Index shot up by 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent.
The sharp drop in crude oil prices also contributed to the rise on Wall Street, thanks to increasing diplomatic measures to secure an agreement to end their hostilities between the United States and Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $5.89 or 5.66 percent at $98.26 per barrel.
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