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April 16, 2026 – 02:07

(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks tracked Wall Street higher as optimism around a potential US-Iran ceasefire and robust corporate earnings buoyed sentiment.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index opened 0.4% higher on Thursday as traders bet a de-escalation of the Middle East conflict will ease oil prices and lift economic growth. That was after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes both closed at record highs, with Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley leading financials higher after stronger-than-expected revenue.

As Middle East tensions cooled, the dollar — which emerged as the haven of choice during the conflict — was a touch weaker on Thursday, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index set for its longest losing streak since December 2006. Brent crude traded just under $95 a barrel. Gold edged up to hover around $4,830 an ounce, while Treasuries were slightly stronger.

The US and Iran are considering a two-week ceasefire extension to allow more time to negotiate a peace deal, according to a person familiar with the matter, reducing the risk of a resumption of fighting despite an intensifying standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

The rally in global stocks marks a sharp reversal from last month’s selloff, which pushed the Nasdaq 100 into a technical correction, with investors returning to equities despite lingering uncertainty over the war’s trajectory. Easing Middle East tensions, along with enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and resilient earnings, have led many skeptics to dial back their caution.

“While we believe it is prudent to maintain a healthy sense of skepticism regarding this headline-driven optimism, underlying breadth and trend indicators are improving off March lows, or at least until the next headline proves otherwise,” said Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler.

Optimism that US-Iran peace efforts will gain traction is prompting investors to unwind the risk premium that has built up since the conflict began in late February.

Technology stocks, which have lagged for much of the year, led gains on Wall Street. Oracle Corp. soared 4.2% and Microsoft Corp. rose 4.6%.

“It looked like a rotation day today within the tech sector, as investors sold the high flying chip stocks and bought the beaten down software names,” said Matt Maley of Miller Tabak. “That said, after such a big run, we could see a near-term breather in the tech sector, but that would be normal and healthy.”

The prospect of renewed negotiations helped sustain a broader risk-on tone across markets. Emerging-market stocks extended gains with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbing 1.2%, taking its two-day advance to more than 3% as it continues to recover losses triggered by the conflict.

The S&P 500 Index has climbed in 10 of the past 11 sessions. Benchmarks in Singapore and Taiwan, as well as the MSCI Latin America Index, have all reversed losses that came after the US and Israel attacked Iran. China’s CSI 300 Index became the latest gauge to recoup losses since the conflict started.

“North Asia, EM Europe and Latin America have led the relief rally, while oil-importing parts of ASEAN and India have lagged,” Goldman Sachs analysts including Kamakshya Trivedi wrote in a report. “We expect this differentiation to persist given ongoing physical disruptions.”

Corporate News:

The Trump administration wants automakers and other American manufacturers to play a larger role in weapons production. Senior defense officials have held talks about producing weapons and other military supplies with the top executives of companies including General Motors and Ford, the Wall Street Journal reported. Jane Street Group has taken an additional $1 billion stake in AI cloud services provider CoreWeave Inc. and plans to spend about $6 billion on the company’s technology offerings. Morgan Stanley’s stock traders joined the rest of Wall Street with a record-breaking first quarter. Bank of America Corp.’s traders pulled in the business’s highest quarterly revenue in more than a decade, riding a wave of volatility that pushed the firm’s stock-trading desk to an all-time record. Four of the six largest US banks reduced their headcount during the first three months of the year, with Wells Fargo & Co. leading the way with more than 4,000 cuts, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley added staff. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 9:02 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures rose 0.6% Japan’s Topix rose 0.7% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.7% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1806 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 158.83 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8145 per dollar The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7174 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.1% to $74,786.26 Ether fell 0.2% to $2,358.32 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.27% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.94% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $90.76 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,829.96 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.