Asian stocks rally after Iran war ceasefire declared

Oil prices dived, Asian stocks surged and the dollar was knocked back on Wednesday (April 8) as a two-week Middle East ceasefire sparked a relief rally, fuelled by hopes that oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz could resume.

Japan's blue-chip share average soared 5% to a one-month high while the nation's bonds and currency rallied on Wednesday as the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement drove crude oil prices sharply lower and eased concerns of an economic slowdown.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 opened at 54386.65 before jumping 4.8% to 55992.90 (0014GMT), while the broader Topix climbed 3% to 3,763.51. Shortly after, the Nikkei 225 Index jumped to 56,127.92, rising for a fourth day to its highest since March 5.

In South Korea, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened up 309.92 points, or 5.64%, at 5,804.70 points.

Hong Kong stocks rallied at the opening, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index rising 656 points, or 2.61 %, to 25,772.56.

Shanghai Composite index started up at 3930.25 points, rising 40.09 points or by 1 percent.

-Daewoung Kim, Jungmin Ryu, Irene Wang, Joyce Zhou, Xihao Jiang/Reuters