Asian markets posted collective gains at the close of trading on Tuesday, June 24, with the Hang Seng index leading the Chinese markets with gains exceeding 2%, amid a lack of strong economic indicators in the Asian session. Japanese indices rose for the first time in four sessions, as the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and the United States and its entry into force boosted risk appetite in the markets.
The US President announced in a social media post an immediate ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced his agreement to the truce and that his country had achieved its goal of the war. Tehran responded by saying that it would not initiate a firefight unless Israel did. The Nikkei index closed the session at 38,790 points, up 1.14%, or 436 points. The Topix index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose by approximately 0.73%, closing at 2,781 points. Lasertec and Furukawa Electric led the Nikkei’s gains, rising by more than 13% and 6%, respectively.
Chinese indices also registered gains at the close of trading today. The broader Chinese CSI300 index closed the session with gains of approximately 1.20%, closing at 3,904 points. The Shanghai Composite Index of the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed 1.15% higher at 3,420 points.
The Hang Seng Index, the main index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, closed the session at approximately 2.06% higher, closing at 24,177 points. New Oriental Education & Technology and China Hongqiao led the index’s gains, rising by more than 8% and 6%, respectively. India’s Sensex index rose by about 0.07% before closing at 81,993, while the Nifty 50 index rose by about 0.22% to trade at 25,026 points.
In contrast, South Korea’s Kospi index rose by about 2.96% in today’s session, closing at 3,103 points, trading at its highest level since September 2021. This makes it one of the best-performing indices globally this year, with gains of more than 29%. The election of Lee Jae-myung as president restored political stability and reinforced expectations of improved corporate governance standards and improved stock market returns. New Zealand stock markets closed with losses today, with the NZX50 index falling by 0.52% to close at 12,467 points, while Australia’s ASX200 index rose by 0.95% to close at 8,555 points. Singapore’s main index rose by 0.68% in pre-market trading.