South Korea’s Kospi opened at a fresh record Monday, leading gains in Asia-Pacific markets amid rising oil prices and escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Investor sentiment remained cautious after President Donald Trump‘s rejected Tehran’s latest proposal to end the war.
Iran submitted a new proposal to U.S. negotiators focused on ending the Middle East conflict. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the counteroffer called for an end to the war on all fronts and the lifting of sanctions on Tehran, citing an informed source.
However, Trump said he did not like Iran’s response and called it “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” in a Truth Social Post.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the war with Iran is “not over,” as the U.S. and Israel still aim to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Netanyahu’s comments come ahead of Trump‘s trip to China later this week, where he’s expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran have spiked global energy costs and sharply raised gas prices in the U.S.
The West Texas Intermediate futures for June was 3.39% higher at $98.65 per barrel as of 8:06 p.m. ET. Brent crude futures for July rose 3.37% to $104.66 per barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi opened 3.67% to a fresh record, while the small-cap Kosdaq was marginally higher. Index heavyweight SK Hynix rose 9.61%, tracking U.S. chip-related equities which surged Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.81%, while the Topix gained 0.32%. Nintendo shares fell 6.63%, as investors digested news that the game developer will hike Switch 2 prices while expecting a decline in console sales.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.71% lower.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 26,250, lower than the index’s last close of 26,393.71.
Stock Chart IconStock chart icon
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 143 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each also lost 0.3%.
Sunday’s moves come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rallied more than 2% and 4%, respectively, last week. Both indexes recorded their sixth-straight winning weeks — a first for each since 2024.
The Dow rose 0.2% for the week, notching its fifth week of gains out of the last six.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Garrett Downs contributed to this report.