TOKYO: Global benchmarks mostly rebounded Tuesday, in a mood of cautious relief after President Donald Trump said the United States has talked with Iran about a possible end to their war.
France's CAC 40 gained 0.4 per cent in early trading to 7,759.97, while the German DAX edged up 0.2 per cent to 22,695.54. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1 per cent to 9,899.12.
US shares were set to be little changed, with Dow futures up less than 0.1 per cent at 46,536.00. S&P 500 futures were also virtually unchanged, declining less than 0.1 per cent to 6,634.50.
In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.4 per cent to finish at 52,252.28, recovering some of the losses it suffered the previous day.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s stock price gained 0.6 per cent after it announced overnight that it was investing USD 1 billion in its Kentucky and Indiana auto plants. That's part of a plan to invest up to USD 10 billion in the US over the next five years that the Japanese automaker announced in November.
Japanese manufacturers have been eager to show their contribution to American jobs and economic growth.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 per cent to 8,379.40. South Korea's Kospi edged up 2.7 per cent to 5,553.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.8 per cent to 25,063.71, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.8 per cent to 3,881.28.
Global markets have been on a roller-coaster ride over worries about the war in Iran, which began in late February, especially nations in Asia, which are severely affected by any lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for energy shipments from the Middle East.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude gained USD 1.34 to USD 89.47 a barrel. Brent crude the international standard, added USD 1.00 to USD 100.94 a barrel, reversing course after easing overnight on Wall Street. That came after Trump said the US and Iran held productive talks "regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East" over the last two days.
Iran denied such talks took place and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a post on X that "fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets".
"Still, while there's clearly a long way to go until some sort of ceasefire is agreed and peace restored, we do at least seem to have taken the first step towards those ends," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
In currency trading, the US dollar edged up to 158.55 Japanese yen from 158.35 yen. The euro cost USD 1.15941, down from USD 1.1610.