The Japan Times - Oil tumbles and stocks rally on peace hopes, Samsung tops $1 trillion

Investors welcomed Donald Trump's decision to pause efforts to help stranded ships through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which drew Iranian attacks, threatening an already fragile ceasefire.

The US president, who had been quoted as warning that Iran would be "blown off the face of the Earth" if it attacked US ships, appeared to take a more conciliatory tone Tuesday.

"Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," he wrote in a social media post.

He cited "the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran" for the decision, adding that it came at the request of mediator Pakistan.

The US blockade of Iranian ports remained, however.

The announcement came hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the offensive side of the US campaign, called "Operation Epic Fury", had concluded.

"The operation is over -- Epic Fury -- as the president notified Congress. We're done with that stage of it," Rubio told reporters at the White House.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth had said the United States was "not looking for a fight", but warned attacks would face "overwhelming and devastating" force.

Oil prices sank around four percent Tuesday, and on Wednesday they continued to fall as much as three percent, with West Texas Intermediate back below $100 a barrel.

The cheaper oil prices provided support to equities, with investors taking their cue from another record day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, fuelled again by tech firms.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta were all up with London, Paris and Frankfurt.

"Investors found some reassurance in comments from President Donald Trump ... despite ongoing disruption to shipping routes," said Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at City Index.

"Investors are also finding some reassurance in the fact that the diplomatic push to resolve the conflict continues."

She added that strong US earnings were also boosting risk appetite as they had largely been in line with forecasts.

However, she added: "Sentiment remains vulnerable. Even US entities could face serious headwinds should the Strait of Hormuz remain closed for an extended period."

The standout performer was Seoul's Kospi index, which piled on more than five percent to pass 7,000 points for the first time.

That came on the back of an eye-watering surge by Samsung, which rocketed 14.4 percent to hit a market capitalisation above $1 trillion thanks to huge demand for its AI chips.

That makes it just the second Asia firm after Taiwan's TSMC to reach the figure.

Rival SK hynix soared more than 10 percent.

Samsung's shares have risen around 300 percent over the past year as the AI boom boosts South Korean growth.

The more risk-on atmosphere also weighed on the dollar, which has been a safe haven from turmoil during the Middle East crisis.

The yen continued to hold its gains after surging last week on what is thought to have been an intervention by Japanese authorities to support the struggling currency.

- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.1 percent at $99.12 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.6 percent to $107.01 a barrel

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 26,213.78 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 4,160.17 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.6 percent at 10,382.35

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.00 yen from 157.85 yen on Tuesday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1734 from $1.1696

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3596 from $1.3544

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.31 pence from 86.36 pence

New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 49,298.25 (close)

K.Tanaka--JT