South Korea’s Kospi index soared to a new record on Wednesday, as Asia-Pacific markets broadly rallied. This upswing mirrored Wall Street’s positive performance, fueled by a drop in oil prices and robust corporate earnings, which boosted investor confidence.
In a move indicating progress in diplomatic efforts to address the Middle East crisis, President Donald Trump announced a temporary halt to the U.S.’s initiative to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have mutually agreed that, while the blockade will remain fully enforced, Project Freedom will be paused briefly to assess whether the agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump shared on his Truth Social platform.
The U.S. military had initiated Project Freedom on Monday, aiming to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reported on Tuesday that “two American commercial ships, accompanied by U.S. destroyers, have successfully navigated the strait, demonstrating that the passage is secure.”
Meanwhile, oil prices saw a decline, with West Texas Intermediate futures for June dropping 1.51% to $100.73 per barrel by 3:14 a.m. ET. Brent crude futures for July also fell, down 1.48% to $108.23 per barrel.
Back in South Korea, the Kospi climbed 6.45%, closing at an unprecedented 7,384.56. This gain continues its impressive annual growth of over 70% as of the last trading session, following a holiday break. Samsung Electronics, a major player on the index, hit a milestone by jumping over 14%, pushing its market capitalization past the $1 trillion mark.
The small-cap Kosdaq index slipped 0.29% to 1,210.17.
China’s CSI 300 added 1.45% to 4,877.09 as it resumed trading after Labor Day break. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1%, as of its last hour of trade.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% to close at 8,793.6. India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.11% as of 3:50 a.m. ET.
Japan stock market was closed due to a holiday. The yen had strengthened more than 1% against the greenback to156.15 earlier in the day.
S&P 500 futures added 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.6%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 30 points, or less than 0.1%.
During Tuesday’s regular session, the S&P 500 rose 0.81%, hitting a new all-time high and closing at a record of 7,259.22. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03%, touching a new high and notching a closing record of 25,326.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 356.35 points, or 0.73%, to end at 49,298.25.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
