Market News

Asian shares surge, oil dips after Trump claims progress in Iran war talks

Asian shares climbed sharply on Friday, tracking big Wall Street gains, and oil prices slipped after US President Donald Trump claimed there was a breakthrough in talks to end the Iran war. US futures edged higher. South Korea's Kospi jumped 7.8 per cent to 8,370.82, narrowing losses from earlier this month from sell-offs of shares related to artificial intelligence. The Kospi has roughly doubled over the past six months, with a record closing high of 8.801.49 on June 2. Samsung Electronics, South Korea's most valuable company, advanced 11.2 per cent. Computer chipmaker SK Hynix rose 7.2 per cent. Tokyo's Nikkei's 225 gained 3.5 per cent to 66,442.95, also led by gains for technology stocks. SoftBank Group, a multinational investment holding company with a strong AI focus, was up 2 per cent. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 10.3 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.8 per cent to 24,689.32 and the Shanghai Composite index rose 1.6 per cent to 4,050.51. In Australia,