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12/06/26
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Asian Stocks Rally on Lower Oil Prices and Easing Geopolitical Tensions
Asian equities advanced on Friday as investor sentiment improved on the back of lower oil prices and signs of easing geopolitical risk. The shift followed President Donald Trump’s suggestion that a peace agreement with Iran could be reached as soon as this weekend. The prospect of reduced tension in the Middle East helped calm markets after earlier concerns that US strikes could target Iranian energy infrastructure.
Optimism also increased ahead of SpaceX’s expected market debut, which is being framed as one of the most closely watched listings in recent memory. The company is reportedly aiming to raise about $75 billion at a valuation of $1.78 trillion, reinforcing confidence in the broader technology and artificial intelligence trade. That theme continued to support regional equities, with chipmakers and other growth-sensitive stocks leading gains.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 3.38% to around 66,400, while South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 8.29%, trading above 8,400 at the time of writing. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.03% to about 24,750, and China’s SSE Composite added 1.56% to near 4,050. The rally was broad-based across major Asian markets, with financial, technology, and consumer shares all contributing to the advance.
Japan’s market may still face an important policy test next week. The Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, which would lift the policy rate to 1%, its highest level since 1995. Such a move would also mark the first rate increase since December. Attention has also turned to the central bank’s leadership, after Governor Kazuo Ueda was reported to miss the policy meeting because of illness.
South Korea was among the strongest performers, supported by a sharp rebound in semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics climbed 12.0% and SK Hynix rose 8.5% as investors returned to AI-related chip names after a strong recovery in US technology shares. In Hong Kong, gains in large financial and retail names outweighed weakness in the communications sector.
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