South Korea’s Kospi hit a record high Tuesday while the broader Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed, amid hopes for a resolution to the Middle East conflict, even as tensions between Iran and the U.S. continue to simmer.
“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table— in his own imagination— into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a X post.
“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,” Ghalibaf, who is also Iran’s top negotiator, added.
This comes after President Donald Trump on Monday said “lots of bombs [will] start going off” if no deal is reached before a shaky ceasefire with Tehran expires Tuesday evening, threatening Iran with overwhelming military force.
The threats come even as a U.S. delegation prepared to return to Pakistan for a potential second round of peace talks.
Investors remain bullish on the broader picture ahead for equities. Ohsung Kwon, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Monday afternoon. “I think the economy is going to be fine for the next three months.”
West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery was 1.41% lower at $88.35 per barrel as of 2:40 a.m. ET. Brent crude futures for June delivery fell 0.84% to $94.68 per barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi ended Tuesday’s session at a record high, up 2.72% to 6,388.47, supported by gains in tech stocks. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 2.1%, while semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix gained 4.97%. The small-cap Kosdaq index gained 0.36% to 1,179.03.
Shares of Hybe, the parent company of South Korean boyband BTS, fell 2.35%, following news that the police are seeking a detention warrant for its founder Bang Si-hyuk, amid allegations that he misled early investors ahead of the company’s 2020 initial public offering.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.89% to 59,349.17, while the Topix slipped 0.18% to 3,770.38. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat at 8,949.40.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 index was trading 0.18% higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.36%. Victory Giant, one of Nvidia’s printed-circuit-board suppliers, debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, advancing 60% after raising about HK$20.1 billion ($2.57 billion) in the city’s largest IPO since Zijin Gold last September.
India’s Nifty 50 was 0.73% higher.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.12% and 0.23%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 70 points, or 0.11%.
Overnight, the S&P 500 shed 0.24% to close at 7,109.14, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.26% to finish at 24,404.39, with the latter snapping its 13-day winning streak — its longest positive streak since 1992. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4.87 points, or 0.01%, settling at 49,442.56.