Electronic screens display gongs at the Exchange Square Complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal grew.
Stocks have rallied this week on the possibility of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. The S&P 500, whichfully recovered from its Iran war losseson Monday, has risen 3% this week. The Nasdaq and Dow, meanwhile, have added around 5% and more than 1%, respectively.
The Iran war is “very close to over,” PresidentDonald Trumpsaid in a Fox Business interview that aired on Wednesday, again claiming that Tehran wants to “make a deal very badly.”
A White House official told CNBC on Tuesday that asecond round of negotiationsbetween Washington and Iran is under discussion. According to the official, who asked not to be named to discuss the administration’s plans, said nothing has been officially scheduled yet.
TheWest Texas Intermediate was down 0.38% at $90.94 per barrel as of 8 p.m. ET. International benchmark Brent crudedeclined 0.36% at $94.59 per barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.03% while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.77% higher. Japan’sNikkei 225rose 0.81%, while the Topix gained 0.70%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was marginally higher, adding 0.22%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 26,129, compared with the index’s last close of 25,947.32.
Overnight on Wall Street, S&P 500 futuresandNasdaq 100 futuresboth traded around the flatline.Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Averagerose by 45 points, or 0.1%.
During Wednesday’s regular session, the S&P 500 gained 0.80%, ending at 7,022.95. TheNasdaq Compositeadvanced 1.59% to 24,016.02, while theDow Jones Industrial Averageshed 72.27 points, or 0.15%, to close at 48,463.72.
Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at records, with the tech-heavy index posting an 11th-day win streak and the broad market benchmark notching its 10th positive session out of 11.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
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