Asian equities turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as investors weighed signs of diplomatic progress in the US-Iran standoff. Officials close to the negotiations said an agreement to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz was approaching, offering the region a measure of comfort after days of heightened tension.
The diplomatic overtures came on the heels of US self-defense strikes in southern Iran on Monday. According to a US Central Command spokesperson, the operations targeted missile launch sites and Iranian vessels attempting to lay mines. While the military maintained that its actions were calibrated to protect deployed forces and insisted it remained restrained during the ceasefire, President Donald Trump said talks aimed at ending the conflict and restoring transit through the Hormuz Strait were advancing well.
South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 3.19% to trade just below 8,100 at the time of writing, pulling back marginally from an intraday record of 8,131 reached earlier in the session. The index was lifted by a broad rally in AI-linked semiconductor shares, buoyed by strong earnings forecasts and surging demand for high-bandwidth memory chips. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix led the advance, while gains also fanned out across automakers, battery manufacturers, and shipbuilders.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% to hover around 64,900, though the broader Topix Index eked out a modest gain of 0.11% to near 3,950. The Nikkei consolidated after a sharp Monday session that saw it breach the 65,000 level for the first time. Traders booked profits as geopolitical concerns eased and a wave of corporate restructuring weighed on sentiment. Technology and AI-related names that had powered the previous day’s rally—including Kioxia Holdings, Fujikura, and Advantest—reversed course.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.45% to edge above 25,700, supported by gains in financials and electronic technology stocks. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation rose 9.1%, and Lenovo Group climbed 10.7%. By contrast, sentiment toward Xiaomi Corporation soured as short interest in the stock hit a record high, weighed down by rising memory costs and growing competition in China’s electric vehicle sector.