Asian Equities Rebound as Risk Appetite Improves
By Ronnie Harui
Asian equities rebounded Thursday morning following Wednesday's selloff as appetite for risky assets improved on the back of strong U.S. economic data released overnight.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 3.6%, South Korea's Kospi climbed around 11% and Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index added 0.8%. Korea Exchange briefly suspended trading in Seoul early Thursday to cool volatility following sharp gains in both the main Kospi and the smaller tech-heavy Kosdaq markets.
The main theme has been risk-on, Commerzbank Research analysts said in a note. "Investors interpreted the positive ISM services index, coupled with a softer price sub-index, as reasons to be optimistic that the U.S. economy could remain resilient amid geopolitical tensions," the analysts said.
U.S. services-sector activity continued to rise in February, according to a monthly survey. The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers index for services providers rose to 56.1 in February, higher than economists' expectation of 53.5 in a Wall Street Journal survey.
Some optimism over the progress of the U.S.-Israel military attack on Iran also likely helped to bolster investor sentiment. President Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. military engagement in Iran was doing "very well."
However, oil prices rose on prospects of prolonged supply disruptions driven by the Middle East conflict. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran has no hope of outlasting the U.S. in the conflict. He added that the war could last up to eight weeks, though it might be over sooner.
"Oil prices continue to hold up well on the dips amid supply disruption fears in the Middle East," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at FOREX.com.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were 2.8% higher at $76.75 per barrel, and front-month Brent crude oil futures are were 2.5% higher at $83.46 a barrel.
Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 04, 2026 20:49 ET (01:49 GMT)
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