Asian Stocks Rise as Investors Ignore Middle East Tensions Driving Surge in Oil -- Update

By Ronnie Harui and Kimberley Kao

Asian markets rose on Monday, as investors looked beyond renewed tensions in the Middle East that sent oil futures higher.

President Trump said Sunday that Iran had violated its cease-fire agreement with the U.S. and threatened in a social-media post to "knock out every single Power Plant and every single Bridge, in Iran" if Tehran doesn't make a deal.

Trump's threat came even as he said that Vice President JD Vance, Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner would be heading to Pakistan and would arrive Monday evening in Islamabad for a new round of peace talks with Iran.

Pakistan helped broker a two-week cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran that expires on Tuesday night.

Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran has no trust in the U.S., and its armed forces remain on full combat readiness as fighting may restart at any moment. Despite being involved in active negotiations with the U.S. to reach a permanent cease-fire, Iran is fully prepared to respond "at any moment if the enemy makes a mistake," he said.

Elevated concerns of supply disruptions in the region drove a sharp increase in oil prices.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures climbed 6.5% to $89.32 a barrel, and front-month Brent crude oil futures rose 5.9% to $95.76 a barrel, ICE data showed.

Separately, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.6% higher, led by technology and machinery stocks, while South Korea's Kospi ended 0.4% higher, driven by battery and artificial-intelligence chip stocks. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended up 0.8% and China's Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.8% higher.

The simultaneous rise in crude prices and Asian equities was notable, as the two have been mostly moving inversely since the war began due to the region's heavy exposure to Middle East energy disruptions.

The U.S. Central Command said that it had fired upon, boarded, and seized an Iranian-flagged vessel that was traveling toward the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Sunday.

"As the conflict drags on with no clear resolution in sight, investors appear to be getting used to volatility--and the idea of sustained volatility in the coming weeks/months, and trying to look beyond the disruptions," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.

Tech-heavy indexes were doing well early Monday as news in the AI space have been encouraging, the analyst said.

"As long as oil prices remain below the $100 [a barrel] level, investors seem willing to maintain--and even increase--exposure to technology names," Ozkardeskaya added.

Asian markets are assuming that both the U.S. and Iran are keen to remove themselves from the current situation and "that an endgame [in some form] is in sight--with an expected normalization in energy markets," said William Bratton, head of cash equity research for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas.

"Even if this presumption is wrong and the current situation persists, it is argued that supply chains [and human behaviors] will adjust to offset the punitive impacts of higher energy prices," Bratton added.

Spot gold was 0.7% lower at $4,801.64 an ounce, and spot silver was down 1.1% at $79.89 an ounce.

"Markets now view these tensions as 'chronic' rather than sudden shocks, which reduces their immediate impact on prices" of gold, said Rania Gule, senior market analyst at XS.com.

Write to Ronnie Harui at [e-mail] and Kimberley Kao at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-20-26 0430ET