Asian Shares Rebound As Oil Prices Retreat On Trump Remarks

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rallied on Tuesday as concerns over the U.S.-Iran conflict eased following comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that the war was "very complete".

Trump's remarks coupled with reports suggesting Washington may soften sanctions on Russian energy injected a burst of optimism, sending bond prices tumbling and crude oil prices plunging by nearly 10 percent at the start of Asian trading.

Oil prices recouped some losses later after finance ministers from the G7 countries broadly agreed to delay the release of oil from their strategic reserves.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.65 percent to 4,123.14. CATL shares jumped 5.3 percent after the world's biggest battery maker reported higher than expected earnings.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 2.17 percent to 25,959.90 as Trump's remarks helped ease inflation concerns and revived investor demand for riskier assets.

Japanese markets ended sharply higher as energy prices dropped and bond yields retreated on expectations of easing war-related risks. The Nikkei average soared 2.88 percent to 54,248.39, with semiconductor-related stocks doing well.

Tokyo Electron added 2.9 percent, Advantest climbed 5.3 percent and Furukawa Electric surged 8.5 percent. The broader Topix index settled 2.47 percent higher at 3,664.28.

South Korea's Kospi average finished 5.35 percent higher at 5,532.59, led by tech heavyweights and airline stocks. Samsung Electronics, Korean Airn and SK Hynix surged 8-12 percent. An intraday gain above 6 percent triggered a "sidecar" curb that briefly halted program trading on the main bourse during the morning session.

Australian markets advanced, with mining and tech stocks leading the recovery. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.09 percent at 8,692.60, giving up some early gains. The broader All Ordinaries index added 1.14 percent to close at 8,924.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index finished marginally lower at 13,094.37 as early gains faded.

Overnight, U.S. stocks recovered from a sharp early sell-off to end notably higher as oil prices whipsawed and President Trump said the war with Iran may not last that long.

Trump told CBS News that he thinks "the war is very complete, pretty much and they have nothing left in a military sense." Trump also added that he's thinking about taking over the Strait of Hormuz.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both slumped by as much as 1.5 percent to reach their worst intraday levels in over three months before reversing course to end higher by 1.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

The Dow tumbled by as much as 1.9 percent before finishing half a percent higher.