help stranded ships<\/a> through Hormuz, which drew Iranian attacks and threatened their fragile ceasefire.<\/p>\nIf \u201cIran agrees to give what has been agreed to\u201d the war would be over, the US president said. But if not, the bombing would resume \u201cat a much higher level and intensity\u201d.<\/p>\n
He later told reporters: \u201cWe\u2019ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it\u2019s very possible that we\u2019ll make a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The US news outlet Axios cited two US officials as saying both sides were close to agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war, open the strait and set a framework for more detailed nuclear talks.<\/p>\n
Iran has yet to respond to the US offer, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei telling local media it was \u201cstill under review\u201d.<\/p>\n
Parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has taken the lead in negotiations, warned Washington trying to \u201cforce us to surrender\u201d.<\/p>\n
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key figure in initial talks in Islamabad last month, said he was \u201cvery hopeful\u201d.<\/p>\n
Oil prices were flat on Thursday, having fallen around 10% over the previous two days.<\/p>\n
Investors, who have largely remained optimistic that a deal can be reached, tracked another record day on Wall Street and pushed Asian markets higher.<\/p>\n
The gains have also been helped by a fresh wave of cash back into the tech sector as traders snap up all things AI, helped by standout earnings from US giants including Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet.<\/p>\n
Tokyo\u2019s Nikkei soared more than five percent as investors there returned from a long holiday, with tech investment titan SoftBank rocketing more than 15% while chip-linked firms Tokyo Electron and Advantest also ratcheted up big gains.<\/p>\n
Seoul extended Wednesday\u2019s surge that took it past 7,000 points for the first time, with Samsung also up following its meteoric rise to pass the $1 trillion market capitalisation mark.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta also clocked up big gains. The Stock Exchange of Thailand was trading around 1,520 points, up 4 points from the day before, as the morning session began.<\/p>\n
The prospect of cheaper oil prices tempered worries about inflation, which also helped gold rally more than three percent on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201dTaders aggressively embraced the idea that the Iran war may finally be shifting from missile trajectories to negotiation tables, while the AI frenzy simultaneously poured jet fuel onto the risk rally,\u201d said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe result was one of those rare sessions where nearly every macro domino fell in perfect sequence. Oil collapsed, bonds rallied, the dollar sank, gold exploded higher\u201d and stocks surged.<\/p>\n
Investors in Tokyo were also closely watching the yen after speculation of intervention by the Japanese government to prop up the beleaguered currency.<\/p>\n
The unit, which has been hit by surging oil prices and a rush to the safe-haven dollar, hit a 10-month high against the greenback Wednesday, in the latest of a series of spikes in recent days that have fuelled rumours that officials have provided support.<\/p>\n
The government spent 38 billion buying yen in the market last Thursday, local media reported, quoting Bank of Japan data.<\/p>\n
Atsushi Mimura, Japan\u2019s top currency official, on Thursday declined to comment, local media reported.<\/p>\n
Key figures as of 0230 GMT
\n
\nTokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 5.7% at 62,915.87 (break)
\nHong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5% at 26,598.50
\nShanghai – Composite: UP 0.2% at 4,167.62
\nWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $95.08 a barrel
\nBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1% at $101.32 a barrel
\nDollar\/yen: DOWN at 156.23 yen from 156.39 yen on Wednesday
\nEuro\/dollar: UP at $1.1756 from $1.1752
\nPound\/dollar: UP at $1.3600 from $1.3594
\nEuro\/pound: DOWN at 86.42 pence from 86.45 pence.
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