TOKYO — Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly climbing above the 70,000 mark for the first time before giving back some of its early gains after the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate to 1%.
The quarter-point increase lifted Japan’s benchmark rate to its highest level in 30 years.
By early afternoon in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.6% at 69,713.05. South Korea’s Kospi also extended its rally into record territory, rising 2.1% to 8,721.64.
China’s Shanghai Composite edged up less than 0.1% to 4,100.53.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 8,892.10, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.3% to 24,533.35.
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.6%, and India’s Sensex added 0.5%.
On Monday, stock markets rallied worldwide and oil prices eased after the United States and Iran reached a tentative deal to get the global flow of crude going again. The S&P 500 rose 1.7% and the Dow climbed 0.9% to a record. The Nasdaq composite jumped 3.1%.
Brent crude fell 4.8% on expectations that the agreement might reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where much of Asia gets its oil supply. But some analysts urged caution, noting many issues remain uncertain. Negotiations with Iran are expected to continue over the next 60 days. Even after Hormuz reopens on Friday as expected, it will likely take months for the energy industry to get back to full speed.
Oil prices have declined recently on hopes for an extension of the ceasefire in the war, falling from the $100 plus levels they were at a few weeks ago. Before the war, oil was trading at about $70 a barrel.
Early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude was down 9 cents at $80.66 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 24 cents to $82.93 a barrel.
In share trading Monday, U.S. stocks related to the artificial-intelligence industry soared. Micron Technology rallied 10.8%, and Advanced Micro Devices rose 7%.
Nvidia’s climb of 3.5% was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 upward because the AI chip company is Wall Street’s most valuable company, giving it more weight on the index than any other. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company that also owns the AI company xAI, rose 19.6% in its second day of trading on Wall Street.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased on hopes that lower oil prices will remove pressure on central banks to raise interest rates. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.47% from 4.48% late Friday.
In currency trading early Tuesday, the U.S. dollar was nearly unchanged at 160.33 Japanese yen. The euro cost $1.1580, down from $1.1592.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
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