A screen displays share prices inside the Kabuto One building in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, April 13, 2026. Oil surged and stocks fell after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions with Iran following the collapse of weekend peace talks. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Friday as investors assess U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts at reaching a peace deal in the Middle East.
Tehran intending to keep its enriched uranium stockpile within the country, according to a Reuters report, could complicate negotiations with Washington, as President Donald Trump has made dismantling Iran’s nuclear program a central objective of his military action against Tehran.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.36%, while the Topix added 0.55%. Japan’s core inflation eased more than expected in April to its lowest level since March 2022, weakening the case for an early rate hike by the Bank of Japan.
Core inflation — which strips out prices of fresh food — came in at 1.4%, lower than the 1.7% expected by economists polled by Reuters and below the 1.8% reading in March.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.59%, while the Kosdaq Index jumped over 5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.55%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.22%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.70%.
India’s Nifty 50 as well as the BSE Sensex were up over 0.4%.
Oil prices rose after declining in the previous session. July futures for international benchmark, Brent crude, gained 1.46% to $104.08 a barrel in Asia trading, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June advanced 0.93% at $97.25 per barrel.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, which has backed off its highs, was last down more than 1 basis point at 4.57%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield, which is more sensitive to political risks, was down 2 basis points to 5.091%.
Moody’s Head of Global Ratings and Research Philipp Lotter told CNBC that global credit markets are facing longer-term upward pressure on yield curves and borrowing costs. Governments are contending with rising spending needs, weaker demographics and major investment demands, he said.
Lotter pointed to “significant increases in defense spending requirements,” especially in Europe, as well as the “billions and billions” needed for AI and data-center expansion globally and in Asia.
Those forces are creating an “additional mismatch” between spending and savings, he said, “causing that further structural imbalance globally.”
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a record close. The blue-chip index gained 276.31 points, or 0.55%, for a closing record of 50,285.66. The S&P 500 advanced 0.17% to 7,445.72, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.09% to end at 26,293.10.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Alex Harring contributed to this report
