Japan, South Korea markets hit records on hopes for a winding down of
the Iran war
[May 29, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Markets in Japan and South Korea hit fresh records as
world shares mostly advanced Friday on expectations the U.S. and Iran
will agree to extend the ceasefire in their war by 60 days.
Oil prices slipped, but remain above pre-war levels as the Strait of
Hormuz remains largely closed. Analysts warned that the potential
ceasefire extension should be viewed with caution, as it will take time
for oil supplies to recover.
U.S. futures edged 0.1% higher.
In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 10,446.42.
Germany's DAX gained 0.3% to 25,157.61, while France's CAC 40 added 0.9%
to 8,262.90.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.5% and ended at a record high close
of 66,329.50, as data released Friday showed that Tokyo’s core inflation
rate for May rose more slowly than economists expected.
South Korea’s Kospi surged 3.6% to 8,476.15, also at an all-time closing
high, with technology companies powering the gains thanks to the global
boom in artificial intelligence.
Shares in Samsung Electronics, the country's leading company, rose 5.8%.
SK Hynix, which has benefited greatly from the shift to AI, gained 1.9%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 0.7% to 25,182.39, while the Shanghai
Composite index fell 0.7% to 4,068.57.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.6% at 8,731.70.
Taiwan’s Taiex traded 2.5% higher. India's Sensex lost 0.5%.
On Thursday, negotiators from the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative deal
on extending their ceasefire and holding a new round of talks on Iran's
nuclear program, a U.S. official said. Iran had not yet publicly
confirmed the deal and the tentative agreement was still pending U.S.
President Donald Trump’s sign off.
Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 0.1% early Friday to
$92.58 a barrel. It was trading around $70 per barrel in late February
before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude also lost 0.1%, to $88.81 per
barrel.
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A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea
Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign
exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at
the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in
Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 Investors are closely watching for a
reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. official said the
tentative accord makes it clear that Iran wouldn’t be able to impose
tolls on ships transiting the strait, while the U.S. would gradually
lift its sea blockade on Iranian ports.
“The oil market continues to edge lower amid growing optimism that
the U.S. and Iran are moving toward a deal,” ING commodities
strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Friday. “A
reopening of the strait would offer some immediate relief to the oil
market with tankers leaving the Persian Gulf. However, the recovery
is still uncertain.”
Shipowners may be reluctant to send vessels into the Persian Gulf,
at least initially, over fears that the ceasefire could fail, they
wrote. Also a recovery in oil and gas production would likely also
be gradual rather than immediate.
On Thursday, Wall Street pushed to more records with the benchmark
S&P 500 setting another all-time high, climbing 0.6% to 7,563.63.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1% to 50,668.97,
and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.9% to 26,917.47.
In other dealings early Friday, the U.S. dollar was trading at
159.28 Japanese yen, up from 159.24 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1634
from $1.1651.
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