Asian shares surge, led by South Korea

2026-03-05 - 07:03

South Korean dealers work in front of monitors at the Hana Bank in Seoul. The KOPSI led the Asian market surge after plunging 698.37 points on Wednesday. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO: Asian shares rallied on Thursday and US Treasuries declined, pointing to a tentative recovery in risk appetite that has been hammered by the escalating war in the Middle East. South Korea’s KOSPI gauge recovered its steep losses in the prior session following a rebound on Wall Street. The dollar resumed its advance, while oil and gold traded higher. Chinese shares climbed as party elites in Beijing unveiled their wide-ranging economic and development targets. The US Senate backed President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran, suggesting no quick resolution to a war that has roiled financial markets, transportation networks, and energy production. “Geopolitical risk can flare up again very quickly, so any early gains we see this morning across Asia-Pacific region share markets may not last,” Paco Chow, dealing manager at Moomoo Australia and New Zealand, said in a note. “The outlook will remain cautious until we see oil flows return to normal.” MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 3.9%. South Korea’s KOSPI led regional benchmarks with a 11.2% surge, recovering from a historic plunge, while Japan’s Nikkei jumped 2.5%. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose 3.9 basis points to 4.121%. while the 30-year yield advanced 4.4 basis points to 4.7607%. Yields move inversely to bond prices. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, just hours after moves to halt the US air assault were blocked in Washington. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News on Wednesday that the impact of the conflict on energy markets would be a “bump on the road” and a “small price” to pay for US military goals. But International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that the world was potentially in a long period of flux as the hostilities tested economic resilience. Concerns about energy supply continued to drive up oil prices, which have gained about 16% since the start of the war. US crude CLc1 rose 3.94% to $77.60 a barrel on Thursday, and Brent LCOc1 climbed to US$84.25 per barrel, up 3.5%. Spot gold rose 0.78% to US$5,175.47 an ounce. “The market continues to trade on headlines, and we’re likely to see further volatility ahead,” Henry Russell, a London-based economist for ANZ, said on a podcast. “We’re seeing energy supply still facing constraints with production facilities going offline and more likely to follow if this conflict persists any longer.” China set its economic growth target for 2026 at 4.5%-5%, a slight downgrade from the 5% pace achieved last year, leaving room for efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and rebalance the economy. Beijing also released its 15th five-year plan, pledging investments in innovation, high-tech industries, and a “notable” increase in household consumption. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index gained 1.4%, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 1%. The greenback resumed gains after a breather in the previous session. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.19% to 98.99. The euro fell 0.21% to US$1.1609, while the yen weakened 0.06% to 157.15 per dollar. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin BTC= fell 0.73% to US$72,807.71, and ether declined 0.66% to US$2,136.43.