Asian stocks rallied on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump flagged an end to the Iran war in the coming weeks, while dip-buying after bruising losses in March also aided local markets.
South Korea’s KOSPI was the best performer for the day with an over 8% rally, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX also rose sharply.
Asian markets took a positive lead-in from Wall Street, with U.S. stocks rallying sharply overnight on optimism over an Iran deescalation and as bargain buyers also stepped in.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.2% by 01:01 ET (05:01 GMT).
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S.Korea’s KOSPI outperforms after dismal March South Korea’s KOSPI was the best performer in Asia on Wednesday, rallying over 8%.
The KOSPI was aided by dip-buying after logging bruising losses through March, with the index having wiped out over 19% last month.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) were among the best performers on the KOSPI, rising as much as 10% each after logging deep losses in March. The two tracked a broader slump in memory chip stocks amid questions over long-term demand from the artificial intelligence industry.
South Korean markets were also encouraged by data showing a bumper 48.3% surge in exports in March, while purchasing managers index data showed manufacturing activity grew further last month.
Asia stocks surge as Trump says Iran war could end in 2-3 weeks Broader Asian markets clocked strong gains after falling sharply in March, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes up 4.7% and 4.4%, respectively.
Australia’s ASX 200 jumped 2%, while Singapore’s Straits Times index added 1.8%.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose about 1.6% each, brushing off private PMI data that showed manufacturing activity grew less than expected in March.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 2% on a rebound in technology shares. Zhipu AI, trading as Knowledge Atlas, rallied as much as 35% after its 2025 revenue doubled.
India’s Nifty 50 index jumped 2.1% in morning trade.
Regional markets were encouraged by Trump stating that the U.S. will wind down military action against Iran in the next two-to-three weeks. Trump claimed that Washington had achieved its goals of crippling Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and had also achieved regime change in Tehran.
Trump said Tehran did not have to make a deal as a condition to end the war. But it was unclear whether the Strait of Hormuz– a key oil shipping lane– would be reopened with the U.S. pullback.
Reports earlier this week and comments from Trump suggested that the U.S. would leave the passage closed and would instead direct its European, Asian, and Gulf allies to reopen the channel.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, with Hormuz remaining a major overhang for markets. The channel is a key source of oil and gas for South and East Asia, supplying roughly 20% of the world’s oil consumption.
