Majority of Asian Stock Markets Strengthen, Investors Closely Monitor Ceasefire
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Asia-Pacific stock markets opened mostly higher on Friday (11/4/2026) trading, amid a fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran that has kept market participants on high alert.
According to CNBC, the conflict in the Middle East, which has lasted more than a month, continues to overshadow sentiment, particularly due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy route.
Although a ceasefire has been announced, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains very limited. Iran has stated it will reopen the route if all attacks against its country are halted, while Israel is reported to have approved the agreement.
US President Donald Trump previously halted attacks on Iran on Tuesday as part of efforts to de-escalate the conflict. However, he warned Iran not to impose fees on oil tankers passing through the strait.
On the other hand, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the United States of violating the ceasefire agreement. This accusation has further added to uncertainty in global markets.
In the stock markets, South Korea’s Kospi index strengthened by 1.68% and Kosdaq rose 1.14%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 surged 1.65%, while the Topix moved relatively flat.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that her country plans to release oil reserves for 20 days starting in May. Japan is known to have oil reserves sufficient for 230 days as of 6 April.
In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index weakened by 0.51%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures were at 25,900, higher than the previous close of 25,752.40.
Global oil prices continued to rise, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) up 0.69% to US$98.55 per barrel. Brent crude rose 0.91% to US$95.92 per barrel, after briefly surpassing US$100 per barrel in the previous session.
In overnight trading on Wall Street, US stock indices closed higher despite oil prices dipping from their peaks. This rise reflects investor optimism regarding the easing of geopolitical conflict.
The S&P 500 rose 0.62% to 6,824.66, while the Nasdaq Composite strengthened 0.83% to 22,822.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also climbed 275.88 points or 0.58% to 48,185.80, marking positive performance for the year so far.