Asia markets decline amid easing tensions, oil prices fall.
Karachi: Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a bullish trend during trading, with the KSE-100 Index gaining 1,119 points.
The index has successfully regained the 171,000 level and is currently trading at 171,031 points.
Asia markets opened weaker Friday, despite improving Middle East signals that failed to fully boost investor confidence, contrasting Wall Street’s record rally.
Donald Trump’s comments hinting the Iran conflict could “end soon” provided some relief, following his confirmation of a 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as a step toward de-escalation, per CNBC.
Iranian officials said halting Israeli military activity is key to restarting U.S. talks, with expectations for fresh negotiations next weekend before the two-week ceasefire expires April 21.
Oil prices dipped on cautious optimism: West Texas Intermediate fell 1.29% to $93.47 per barrel, Brent crude 1.14% to $98.26.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.91% and Topix 0.98% on profit-taking. South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.87%, Kosdaq rose 0.26%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.27%.
China’s CSI 300 fell 0.30%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.37%, though Manycore Tech shares tripled on $156 million debut.
Japan Bank for International Cooperation plans a 600 billion yen ($3.8bn) energy security facility for Asia. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama noted oil volatility spilling into currencies; BOJ’s Kazuo Ueda highlighted low real rates for policy.
U.S. futures were flat with slight Dow gains, after S&P 500’s 0.26% rise to record 7,041.28 and Nasdaq’s 0.36% gain in its 12th straight advance since 2009.
