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Asian markets rebounded in early trading Thursday following losses the day before after Iran launched a missile attack on U.S. bases in Iraq.
Tensions decreased significantly Wednesday amid signs of de-escalation, as President Donald Trump said Iran “appears to be standing down” and announced fresh sanctions rather than immediate military action. Trump said the United States is “ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.”
U.S. stocks recovered after shaky pre-market trading, with the Nasdaq closing at a new record and the S&P 500 hitting an intraday record.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +2.18% surged 2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +1.06% rose 1%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.47% advanced 0.5% and the Shenzhen Composite 399106, +1.03% ticked up 1%. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +1.20% rose 1% and benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +1.20% , Singapore STI, +0.06% and Indonesia JAKIDX, +0.27% gained. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.63% advanced 0.6%.
Among individual stocks, Screen Holdings 7735, +6.10% surged in Tokyo trading, while Yahoo Japan parent Z Holdings 4689, +4.64% , SoftBank 9984, +4.60% and Honda 7267, +1.32% also rose. In Hong Kong, Apple component makers Sunny Optical 2382, +4.24% and AAC 2018, +2.52% gained, while PetroChina 857, -1.45% fell as oil prices receded Wednesday. Samsung 005930, +2.29% jumped in South Korea, while in Australia, Beach Energy BPT, -2.23% fell and Rio Tinto RIO, +1.20% advanced.
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index SPX, +0.49% rose 0.5% to 3,253.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.56% advanced 0.6% to 28,745.09. The Nasdaq composite COMP, +0.67% rose 0.7% to a record 9,129.24.
Oil prices rebounded Thursday after first surging on news of the Iranian attack and then falling back once tensions appeared to be easing.
Benchmark U.S. crude CLG20, +0.84% gained 48 cents to $60.09 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell $3.09 to settle at $59.61. It traded as high as $65.65 following the missile attack.
Brent crude BRNH20, +0.73% , used to price international oils, advanced 44 cents to $65.88 per barrel in London. It fell $2.83 the previous session to $65.44.
Gold GCG20, -0.04% had a similar whipsaw day. It climbed as high as $1,604.20 per ounce before settling at $1,560.10.
In currency trading, the dollar USDJPY, +0.08% gained to 109.20 yen from Wednesday’s 109.08 yen.
