Asian markets showed strength on Friday, with major indices hitting new highs, as investors prioritized positive economic signals and tech sector rallies over heightened tensions involving Iran. Hopes for a temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal also contributed to the optimistic mood.
This rally follows record closes on Wall Street, driven by strong performance from companies like Snowflake, which boosted enthusiasm for AI-related stocks.
Asian markets experienced a broad upswing on Friday, with key indices like South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Topix reaching fresh highs. Investors largely brushed aside renewed military activities involving Iran, instead drawing optimism from strong performance in the technology sector and record-setting closes on Wall Street. The positive sentiment was further bolstered by hopes for a temporary ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran.
A screen displays share prices inside the Kabuto One building in Tokyo, Japan. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Regional Performance Highlights
South Korea's Kospi index surged over 3%, briefly touching an intraday record before moderating slightly, while the smaller Kosdaq saw a decline of 3.17%. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 2.49%, and the Topix index advanced 1.86% to a new all-time high.
Driving gains in the tech sector, Samsung Electronics saw its shares jump as much as 6.51% following the announcement that it had commenced global shipments of its latest high-bandwidth memory chip samples.
India's Nifty 50 hovered near the flatline, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 posted a modest gain of 0.72%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 1.1%, with the CSI 300 remaining unchanged.
Geopolitical Developments
The market's resilience comes despite reports of Iran's armed forces allegedly firing missiles at unspecified targets late Thursday, according to state media outlet Fars. This followed earlier Pentagon statements regarding Iran firing a ballistic missile toward Kuwait and deploying attack drones in the Strait of Hormuz.
However, mitigating concerns were reports from Axios, confirmed by a White House official, suggesting that the U.S. and Iran had "mostly agreed" on the terms of a temporary deal to halt their three-month conflict.
Wall Street's Record Close
The positive sentiment was partly fueled by a strong performance on Wall Street the previous day. U.S. stock futures traded near flat on Friday after major averages concluded Thursday's session at new closing records. The S&P 500 gained 0.58%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.91%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.05%.
A significant catalyst for the tech rally was Snowflake Inc., whose shares soared 36.5% after issuing robust fiscal second-quarter guidance and beating earnings expectations. The company also announced a five-year, $6 billion spending plan on Amazon Web Services, reinforcing enthusiasm for the AI trade.
Reporting by CNBC's Sarah Min and Lisa Kailah Han contributed to this report.
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