Asian stocks climb as U.S.-Iran truce talks ease oil prices; tech shares surge

[Financial stock market numbers and city light reflection]

Asian shares mostly higher on Friday, after news of a temporary 60-day ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran and talks on Iran's nuclear program. This eased energy prices and concerns for oil-importing countries. Investor confidence grew with Dell Technologies’ nearly 40% surge due to a strong sales outlook, boosting major markets in Japan and South Korea, and gains in Australia, China, and Hong Kong, particularly in tech and manufacturing sectors.

Gold prices steadied near $4,500 an ounce.

WTI crude futures fell toward $88 per barrel.

The benchmark KOSPI jumped 2.22% to around 8,367, reaching fresh record highs.

Japan's (NKY:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NKY:IND]) surged 2.67% to above 65,700, while the broader Topix Index climbed 1% to 3,942, and the Japanese yen [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/USD:JPY#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link] held firm around 159.3 per dollar after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama warned that authorities could intervene in the foreign exchange market in the event of excessive volatility or speculative trading activity.

Japan’s economy delivered a sweeping batch of better-than-expected data for April [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4598211-japan-economic-snapshot-data-beats-estimates-across-retail-output-and-jobs-as-tokyo-inflation-cools], characterized by a sharp acceleration in retail demand, a recovery in industrial output, and a historic drop in the jobless rate. However, there was a concurrent cooling of core inflation in Tokyo back down to a four-year low of 1.3%.

Japan’s housing starts increased 11.4% yoy in April 2026, shifting from a 29.3% decline in the previous month and marking the first expansion since last October.

Japan's consumer confidence index rose to 33.6 in May 2026 from 32.2 in the previous month.

China's (SHCOMP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SHCOMP]) fell 0.27% to 4,111, while the Shenzhen Component was little changed at around 15,865, and the offshore yuan [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/USD:CNY#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Aglobal%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link] steadied around 6.76 per dollar.

On the corporate front, BYD jumped 3.2% after unveiling a series of technological breakthroughs, including China’s first automotive-grade 4-nanometer chip designed for autonomous driving systems.

Hong Kong (HSI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HSI]) rose 0.96% to 25,140, recovering losses from the previous session.

India (SENSEX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SENSEX]) rose 0.13% to 75,912, recovering some losses from the previous two sessions. The Indian rupee hovered near 95.5 per dollar.

Australia (AS51 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AS51#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]) rose 1.37% to 8,654 on Friday morning deals, reversing a sharp drop in the prior session. The Australian dollar traded around $0.71, on track for a roughly 0.5% monthly decline.

Traders now await Australia's private sector credit data for April, due later today, along with key releases next week, including Q1 current account and GDP figures.

In the U.S. on Thursday, all three major indexes ended in green [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4597973-wall-street-advances-on-u-s-iran-peace-deal-talks] following reports that the U.S. and Iran reached a deal to halt their conflict.

U.S. stock futures were mostly flat as investors looked for official confirmation regarding ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran: Dow +0.06%; S&P 500 +0.04%; Nasdaq -0.03%.

CURRENCIES: (JPY:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JPY:USD]), (CNY:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CNY:USD]), (AUD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AUD:USD]), (INR:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/INR:USD]), (HKD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HKD:USD]), (NZD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NZD:USD]).

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