Asia-Pacific stocks climbed on Tuesday as investors set aside a mix of geopolitical worries and a rare legal cloud hanging over the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stole the spotlight, jumping 3.4% after markets reopened from a holiday, with the broader Topix index up 2.13%. Traders cheered signs that Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party could call a snap election as soon as February, after dissolving the Lower House later this month, according to broadcaster NHK.
Tech and growth names led the charge: SoftBank rallied up to 5%, while chipmakers Advantest and Tokyo Electron leapt roughly 9% and 8.3%, respectively.
Bond markets also reacted — the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond climbed more than 5 basis points to 2.15%, and the 20-year yield surged about 8 basis points to 3.137%. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen slipped toward a one-year low, reaching a value of 158.25 per dollar.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.62%, while the smaller Kosdaq trimmed 0.30%.
Regional index moves on Tuesday included:
- ASX 200 (Australia): +0.76%
- Hang Seng (Hong Kong): +1.01%
- Nikkei 225 (Japan): +3.32%
- NIFTY 50 (India): -0.19%
- Shanghai Composite: -0.03%
Investors were also watching oil prices climb amid violent protests in Iran and new U.S. pressure on Tehran. President Donald Trump declared that any country doing business with Iran would face a 25% tariff on all trade with the United States, effective immediately — a move meant to squeeze Tehran as unrest grips the country.
By Tuesday morning in Singapore, Brent crude futures were up about 1.5% at roughly $64.30 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up around 0.4% near $59.76.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.68%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied about 1.25%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 opened flat. One standout story in Hong Kong was Chinese chipmaker GigaDevice Semiconductor, whose stock surged nearly 50% in its debut trading after raising around HK$4.68 billion ($600 million).
Back in the U.S., equity futures were muted in early Asian hours ahead of key inflation data and major bank earnings results.
Still, U.S. markets finished strong overnight: the S&P 500 rose 0.16% to a record close of 6,977.27, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.17% to 49,590.20, both hitting fresh all-time highs. The Nasdaq Composite also ended higher, up about 0.26% at 23,733.90.
Despite fresh geopolitical risks and an unprecedented tariff threat tied to Iran, global markets are keeping a bullish tilt — at least for now.
