BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Asian shares rallied on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump called off new military strikes on Iran and said a peace deal could be signed in a few days, helping ease fears of escalation.
Iran, however, maintained a tough stance and pushed back against optimistic remarks from Trump.
Iranian officials insisted that no final decision has been made and that key differences remain unresolved.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed reports regarding the timing and location of any potential agreement as premature, clarifying that Tehran will not compromise on what it describes as its 'red lines.' It was said significant obstacles continue to stand in the way of a breakthrough.
The dollar was mildly lower in Asian trade, bond yields eased and gold was subdued below $4,200 an ounce while Brent crude prices dropped toward $88 a barrel, hitting two-month lows.
China's Shanghai Composite index rallied 1.12 percent to 4,031.51 as e-commerce stocks rebounded after falling in the previous session following warnings from regulators over misleading marketing tactics.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.93 percent to 24,718.10, after having hit a 11-month low in the previous session.
Japanese markets soared on Middle East peace deal hops. The Nikkei average surged over 4 percent at one stage before paring some gains to end up 2.81 percent at 66,020.04.
The broader Topix index settled 1.35 percent higher at 3,881.96. The yen was range bound against the dollar as traders remained on alert for any intervention from authorities.
Tech shares topped the gainers list, with memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings surging 7.6 percent to 81.200 yen, replacing Toyota Motor to become Japan's largest company by market capitalization.
Seoul stocks surged as investors snapped up tech heavyweights on U.S.-Iran truce hopes. The Kospi index jumped 4.63 percent to 8,123.62 as foreign investors turned net buyers for the first time in 25 trading sessions.
Samsung Electronics soared 7.9 percent, SK Hynix climbed 2.3 percent and SK Square advanced 10.6 percent.
Australian markets rose sharply to hit a one-week high on signs of easing U.S.-Iran tensions and bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will pause its tightening cycle on June 16.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.98 percent to 8,804 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 1.92 percent at 9,006.10.
Across the Atlantic, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended 1.45 percent higher at 13,393.87, erasing losses from the previous session.
Overnight, U.S. stocks rose sharply while oil prices fell as President Donald Trump called off previously announced strikes and bombing against Iran, saying that discussions have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved by a broad coalition of regional powers.
Trump also said the U.S. naval blockade would remain in place until the agreement was finalized.
Earlier, Trump had warned the U.S. would hit Iran 'very hard' and claimed he plans to seize control of Iran's primary oil export facility at Kharg Island.
In economic releases, investors shrugged off a report that showed U.S. producer prices rose in May at the fastest pace in more than three years.
Separate data revealed that weekly jobless claims increased marginally last week but remained at a historically low level despite economic headwinds brought on by the war in Iran.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.5 percent, the Dow rallied 1.9 percent and the S&P 500 surged 1.8 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
