Asian Markets Rise as Fears Over U.S.-Iran Tensions Ease

By Kimberley Kao

Asian stock markets rose in early trading Friday, as fears about a full-blown war in Iran eased.

President Trump signaled that Iran was open to ending the tit-for-tat fighting that erupted between the two countries this week, after earlier saying that the ceasefire with Iran was over.

There are "expectations of limited military attacks between the U.S. and Iran," ANZ Research analysts said in a report.

"Despite the U.S. ramping up attacks on military sites in Iran, the market drew some reassurance from the Trump administration's decision to avoid targeting Iranian energy infrastructure," the analysts added.

South Korea's Kospi rose 4.1%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 1.7%. China's Shanghai Composite Index was recently up 0.5%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.4%. Taiwan Stock Exchange said markets will be closed due to a typhoon.

Markets are cautiously optimistic, shrugging off Middle East tensions as oil prices eased, which reduced inflation fears, supported risk assets and only weighed slightly on the U.S. dollar, said OCBC Group Research strategists in a note.

Oil futures were rangebound. Front-month WTI crude oil futures were last 0.3% higher at $72.28 a barrel, while front-month Brent was up 0.2% at $76.44 a barrel.

This week's 5% rise in oil prices "should not be expected to materially weigh on equities," said Daniel Tan, director at Grasshopper Asset Management.

"The escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions represents a possible downside risk, but without a much larger increase in energy prices, the impact on global equity markets should be less material," Tan added.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 09, 2026 23:28 ET (03:28 GMT)