Asia Shares Rise on US-Iran Deal Hopes; Nikkei, Kospi at Records

Asian shares rose on May 19 after investors reacted to hopes of a US-Iran agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift a US blockade of Iranian ports. Brent futures fell to about $91 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate to about $87, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi reached record highs and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.30% to a record 66,120 yen, about 31% above its level at the start of the year. South Korea’s Kospi reached a record 8,400 won, roughly 100% higher year-to-date and about 210% above its level 12 months ago. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose to HK$25,275 from this week’s low of HK$24,722.

Market participants expected higher crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to increase supplies of oil and other commodities, including fertilizer and helium. Those expectations contributed to declines in crude and in natural gas prices.

Benchmark government bond yields in parts of Asia moved lower this week. South Korea’s 10-year yield fell to about 4.078% from a year-to-date high near 4.3%. Hong Kong’s 10-year yield dropped to about 3.25% from 3.31%, and Japan’s 10-year slipped to about 2.64% from this month’s peak near 2.8%.

Technology stocks were among the strongest performers in Japan and South Korea. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose into the trillion-dollar market-cap range. LG Electronics jumped more than 23% after announcing automotive agreements with Google; LG Electronics described the solution as “The solution supports automakers to significantly reduce the cost of deploying multi-display in-cabin systems.” In Japan, SoftBank shares climbed to record levels; the company holds investments including SB Energy and a stake in OpenAI, and its Vision Fund has accounted for a large share of recent profits.

Hong Kong technology names lagged the regional advance. Alibaba has retreated about 34% from its high last year, Tencent is down more than 35%, and JD is roughly 21% below its prior peak.

Traders cited oil benchmarks and commodity flows as factors to watch for further market movement.