Japanese Stocks Jump on U.S.-Iran Ceasefire

Tokyo, April 8 (Jiji Press)–Japanese stocks surged in Tokyo trading Wednesday thanks to a U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal, sending the benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbing 5.38 pct. The Nikkei index rose 2,878.86 points to 56,308.42, marking its third-largest single-day point gain and ending above 56,000 for the first time since March 3. Investor sentiment improved as the announcement of a two-week ceasefire by the United States and Iran sent crude oil futures prices tumbling. “The likelihood of the Middle East conflict coming to an end increased,” an official at a Japanese asset management firm said. An official at a Japanese securities house said, “Investors are shifting to a risk-on stance.” Almost 90 pct of issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section ended higher. Some market players remained cautious, however. An official at a major securities firm said, “It remains unclear whether crude oil supply will return to pre-conflict levels.” Elevated oil prices “will inevitably have an adverse impact on corporate earnings,” an official at a Japanese securities house said. In Tokyo foreign exchange trading, the dollar dropped to a two-week low of around 158 yen temporarily as the trend of safe-haven dollar-buying reversed. At 5 p.m., the U.S. currency stood at 158.21-22 yen, down from 159.85-87 yen at the same time on Tuesday. Japanese government bonds drew buybacks on the back of sharply lower oil prices, sending the yield on the most recent issue of 10-year JGBs briefly slipping to 2.355 pct after climbing to a 27-year high of 2.43 pct on Tuesday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]