Japan’s Nikkei hits more than one-month high on hopes of fresh US-Iran talks

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to a more than one-month high on Wednesday, as prospects of a new round of peace talks between the United States and Iran lifted investor sentiment and sent crude oil prices lower.

The Nikkei climbed 0.99% to 58,453.03 by 0125 GMT, rising for a second straight session and crossing the 58,000 level for the first time since March 2.

It has now recouped most of the losses suffered since the start of the US-Iran war at the end of February.

The broader Topix rose 0.7% to 3,781.25.

“Investors bet that Japanese equities will track the strength of US equities, rather than the Middle East war,” said Shoichi Arisawa, a fellow in the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

“US stocks related to artificial intelligence technology and chip shares are so strong that the market feels confident in buying their peers in Japan.”

Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.

The Nasdaq climbed 2% overnight, while the S&P 500 finished up 1%.

Oil prices fell for a second day on Wednesday.

In Japan, AI-technology investor SoftBank Group rose 4.08%.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest jumped 5.4% and chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 0.82%.

IwaiCosmo’s Arisawa said the pace of Nikkei’s gain was fast, given that the index could retreat if the Middle East peace talks failed.

Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing fell 0.95%.

Memory maker Kioxia fell 3.2% after hitting a record high in the previous session. The stock has risen 78% so far this month.

Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime market, 80% rose, 17% fell and 1% traded flat.