Asia markets mostly rise amid hopes of a U.S-Iran deal, China data in focus

A fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire, while not officially scrapped, has been deeply frayed, with the U.S. and Iran accusing each other of violating the conditions of the truce.

The U.S. on Monday said it began blocking ships from entering or exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, as it seeks to raise pressure on Iran to reopen the key oil route, following the collapse of peace talks. The blockade took effect at 10 a.m. ET.

Iranian officials responded by warning that the U.S. blockade will only drive global energy prices higher.

“Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in an X post Sunday.

The West Texas Intermediate was 2.80% lower at $96.31 per barrel as of 03:30 a.m. ET. Brent crude declined 1.22% to $98.14 per barrel.

South Korea’s Kospi ended Tuesday’s session 2.74% higher to 5,967.75, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 2% to 1,121.88. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.43% to 57,877.39, while the Topix gained 0.87% to 3,755.27.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.5% higher at 8,970.8. Australian business confidence in March dropped, weighed by concerns over the Iran war that has led to a global oil shock, according to a survey from National Australia Bank, Reuters reported.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 index ended 1.19% higher at 4,701.28, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.88% as of its last hour of trade.

China’s export growth lost momentum in March as manufacturers faced rising commodity and energy costs linked to Middle East supply disruptions, while imports posted their fastest expansion in more than four years.

Exports grew at their slowest pace in six months at 2.5% in U.S. dollar terms last month from a year earlier, Chinese customs data showed. The figure fell short of a Reuters poll forecast of 8.6% and slowed sharply from the combined 21.8% increase recorded in the first two months of the year.

India markets were closed for a holiday.