Trump's peace statements on Iran lifted stocks in Asia, but oil gets more expensive

The prospect of the imminent withdrawal of US troops from Iran supported demand for shares in Asia, but failed to stop the growth of oil prices. Investors in the stock market were encouraged by US President Donald Trump's words about ending the war in the coming weeks even without a tentative deal. However, oil traders took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the US leader's special address to the nation, which should clarify the prospects of the Middle East crisis.

Broad index of the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan from MSCI in the morning of April 1 added 4.3% in trading, breaking a four-day decline, and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose by 4.6%. South Korea's Kospi index jumped 7.2%, and quotes of the country's two largest companies - Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix - by 12.5% and 10%, respectively. Market participants were encouraged by the words of Donald Trump: the U.S. president admitted the cessation of strikes on Iran within two to three weeks, noting that a preliminary deal with Tehran is not necessary to curtail the conflict, writes Reuters.

Strong macro data also contributed to the positive dynamics of the South Korean stock market - March exports turned out to be a record for almost 40 years and exceeded forecasts. At the same time, the business activity index (PMI) showed that the country's manufacturing sector expanded in March at the highest rate in more than four years due to high demand for semiconductors and the launch of new products, the agency notes.

Meanwhile, oil markets reacted to Trump's promises with restraint: contrary to his peaceful rhetoric on Iran, June futures on the benchmark Brent grade rose in price by 1.3% - May Brent contacts had jumped to $118 per barrel the day before. Traders remain cautious due to the Pentagon's deployment of additional forces to the Persian Gulf, as well as Tehran's position: the Iranian authorities deny holding peace talks with the Xi, although they allow the war to end if their demands are met, Trading Economics states.

"They (US and Iranian authorities. - Oninvest) are still quite far apart in their understanding of what a ceasefire means or what peace means, but the market is positive that they are negotiating," said National Australia Bank currency strategist Rodrigo Catril (quoted by Reuters). "It remains to be seen whether a compromise can be reached," he added.

The focus of investor attention has now shifted to the US president's upcoming speech on Iran, Trading Economics notes. Shortly after Trump told reporters that U.S. troops could leave the Middle East in "two to three weeks," White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt announced the U.S. leader would address the nation with "important information on Iran" on April 1 at 9:00 p.m. North American time (6:00 a.m. April 2 Astana time).

On March 31, a reporter in the Oval Office asked Trump how he planned to get oil prices down. "All I have to do is get out of Iran, and we're going to do that very soon," Trump said, predicting that prices would "collapse." U.S. troops are "seeing it through," he noted, citing a fork in the timeline for completing the military operation, from "two weeks, maybe a couple days longer" to "maybe three," and added: "We have taken out [in Iran] a tremendous amount of missile production capacity."

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor