Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in Tokyo on March 23, 2026.
Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday as oil prices, while elevated, eased slightly following news that President Donald Trump was postponing a scheduled attack on Iran.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for July delivery fell 1.3% to trade at $110.60 per barrel as of 4:25 a.m. ET. West Texas Intermediate futures declined 0.06% to $108.59 per barrel
Investors were assessing Japan’s first-quarter GDP data, which showed the economy grew at an annualized 2.1% in the first three months of the year. The growth was sharply higher than the Reuters-polled analysts’ average estimate of 1.7%, and against the 1.3% in the previous quarter. These figures do not capture the full impact of the Iran war, which started at the end of February.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gave up early gains and closed 0.44% lower at 60,550.59.
A summit meeting between Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung later today will also be in focus. South Korea’s Kospi extended its early losses, falling over 3% to 7,271.66.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the session 1.17% higher to 8,604.70.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 index rose 0.4% to 4,852.88 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.48% to 25,797.85.
India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.18%. Shares of companies affiliated with Gautam Adani rose after the U.S. dropped fraud charges against the Indian billionaire. Adani Enterprises rose 1.79% while Adani Green added 1.81%.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that U.S. military leaders were informed to call off a “scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow” after requests from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“A Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond. This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!,” Trump added.
However, Trump cautioned that he has informed his military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”
Despite the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, the vital Strait of Hormuz remains closed by Tehran, while the U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports.
“As the Middle East conflict enters its third month, there is little prospect of a swift and durable settlement between the U.S. and Iran and with it the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Moody’s said in a note.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 were up 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 25 points, or 0.05%.
During Monday’s regular session, the broad market S&P 500 benchmark dropped 0.07% to end at 7,403.05, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.51% and closed at 26,090.73. It was the second straight day of declines for both indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 159.95 points, or 0.32%, at 49,686.12.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Kevin Breuninger, Sean Conlon, Fred Imbert and Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.
