Asia markets open higher after hopes of U.S.-Iran deal lift Wall Street benchmarks to new records

Asia markets opened higher after Wall Street hit record levels on growing expectations of a U.S.-Iran deal to end the war.

Apr 16, 2026 - 07:17

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Asia markets open higher after hopes of U.S.-Iran deal lift Wall Street benchmarks to new records

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, which fully recovered from its Iran war losses on 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," President Donald Trump said 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 a second round of negotiations between 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.

The West Texas Intermediate was down 0.38% at $90.94 per barrel as of 8 p.m. ET. International benchmark Brent crude declined 0.36% at $94.59 per barrel.

South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.03% while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.77% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 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.

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Overnight on Wall Street, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both traded around the flatline. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 45 points, or 0.1%.

During Wednesday's regular session, the S&P 500 gained 0.80%, ending at 7,022.95. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.59% to 24,016.02, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 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.