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StreetAccount Summary - Asian Market Recap: Nikkei +0.03%, Shanghai Composite +0.26%, Kospi +0.82 as of 04:10 ET

Apr 07 ,2026

• Synopsis:

  • Asia equities ended broadly higher Tuesday in thin trade as traders awaited developments in the Middle East. Japan's two main boards and mainland China benchmarks ended with small gains; Australia, South Korea and Taiwan posted best gains as technology stocks advanced. India paring early losses, most of Southeast Asia down. Hong Kong remains closed for a holiday. US futures improving to trade mixed, Europe's markets opened with gains. US dollar DXY index still trading near 100 but a little weaker in afternoon trade; little movement of note in Asia currencies. Treasury yields higher, JGB yields lower across tenors. Crude futures higher as Washington's deadline for Iran nears. Precious metals down, base metals higher. Cryptocurrencies down across the board.

  • Asia equities drifted for second consecutive day amid low volumes as investors looked ahead to Washington's deadline for Tehran to accept its peace deal, or face attacks on its civilian infrastructure. The deadline is set to pass 8am Hong Kong / 8pm EST Wednesday. Other risk assets steady over the Asia trading day with WTI hovering just under $114/bl and Brent at $110/bl for much of the day while gold rose a tad and the US dollar was also largely unchanged. Overnight, President Trump ratcheted up his threats, saying Tehran's ten-point peace plan was 'not good enough' and repeating threats to destroy Iran 'in one night'.

  • Initial inflation readings in Asia starting to reflect the near doubling of Brent crude prices in March with indicators in Australia, Thailand and the Philippines joining South Korea's initial read to show higher prices. Japan personal spending fell 1.8% y/y, accelerating its decline from February and missing expectations. Australia's PMI composite fell to 46.6 from initial 47.0 estimate, reflecting the first contraction in private sector output in 18 months; March job adverts also fell sharply.

  • LG Electronics (066570.KS) said its operating profit jumped 33% in Q1 on record sales and outperformance from its home appliance business. LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) posted a bigger-than-expected Q1 loss as strong demand for energy storage systems failed to offset a decline in EV sales. Netmarble (0251270.KS) is to purchase 2.1M shares in Coway (021240.KS) for KRW 150B in cash, will hold 29.1 stake post settlement. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) posted preliminary Q1 operating profit at a record KRW57.2T, well above expectations and higher than FY25 profits.

• Digest:

  • Trump says Tuesday deadline for Iran highly unlikely to be extended again:

    • President Trump told reporters the Tuesday deadline set for Iran to make a deal is final and unlikely to be extended (Reuters). Noted Iran's proposal was significant but not good enough. At the scheduled press conference, threatened permanent damage to Iran's power plants and bridges in a matter of hours (Reuters). A Reuters source separately indicated the 45-day ceasefire plan reported yesterday by Axios that would come into effect immediately has been presented to both sides. Tehran still rejecting a ceasefire, instead demanding a permanent end to the war. IRNA reported Iran's response consisted of 10 clauses including an end to conflict in the region, protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting sanctions and reimbursement for reconstruction. Latest Axios report only reaffirmed two sides remained far apart as a US official described Iran's response as "maximalist." Article added Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said to be opposed to a ceasefire deal. Bloomberg noted more mixed signals from Trump, who emphasized reopening the Strait remains a priority after prior comments from the administration about whether this was a condition for withdrawal. Trump also mixed threats with an upbeat assessment of diplomatic conversations, despite Iran's response via state media.

  • Asia's March inflation data shows first signs Iran war impacting prices:

    • Asia's first inflation gauges reflecting March price movements indicate crude prices' near doubling over month triggered broader-based consumer price rises. Australia's March TD-MI Inflation gauge rose 4.3% y/y from February's 3.6%, up 1.3% on m/m basis from previous month's 0.2% contraction. Analysts said jump reflected mounting price pressures likely driven by fuel, energy-related costs; reinforces risk broad inflation could reaccelerate (MelbourneInstitute). Thailand's March CPI fell 0.1% y/y but accelerated from February's 0.9% decline; m/m increase was 0.6% from 0.2% decline in prior month (BangkokPost). Economists have long warned over country's vulnerability to energy shocks; increase prompted PM Anutin to announce changes to budget, energy price structures, as well as financial relief program Tuesday (TheNation). Philippines March CPI inflation rose 4.1% y/y from prior 2.4%, highest level in nearly two years, above economists' expectations, and above central bank 2-4% target; rise driven by oil prices, sharp peso depreciation (Bloomberg).

  • February household spending provides final snapshot before Iran war:

    • Japan household spending fell 1.8% y/y in February, below consensus 0.8%. Follows 1.0% decline in the previous month for the third straight slide. Translated to a 1.5% m/m rise, also below consensus 2.5%, though still marked the first bounce in three months. Weakness largely reflects sharp drop in school tuition amid a government drive to provide free schooling as part of cost-of-living relief measures, though aggregate still soft outside of this segment. Household gross and disposable incomes mildly positive with still marked erosion from inflation. Broader attention has turned to a historic third straight year of strong pay raises out of this year's shunto talks. Australia household spending edged up 0.3% m/m, slightly ahead of consensus 0.2%, following 0.3% in the prior month. ABS highlighted positive contributions from both discretionary and non-discretionary spending (entertainment). Attests to resilience in consumer sentiment despite weakness in recent data with most of the recent attention on the growing household burden from rate hikes. Any subsequent weakness stemming from Middle East impacts set to be benchmarked against these levels. Both countries have moved to address surging fuel prices and supply shortages. Japan has implemented subsidies in a bid to cap retail gasoline prices at JPY170/L while Australia working more behind the scenes to ensure stable supplies.

  • Samsung blowout earnings beat reinforces tech optimism:

    • Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) reported preliminary Q1 operating profit of a record KRW57.20T, far above StreetAccount consensus KRW38.95T, translating to 755% y/y growth. Revenues also beat at KRW133.00T vs StreetAccount KRW117.347T. Full results slated to be published around 23-Apr. Previews emphasized expectations were already bullish. Reuters noted OP nearly tripled the prior record of KRW20T in Q4 and exceeded the annual total for last year. Surge in chip prices has been widely covered as AI demand led to tight supplies. Middle East impacts now in focus with net implications seen leaning negative based on concerns that AI data center demand will be adversely impacted, combined with supply chain constraints in key chipmaking materials. Latest signals have been softer; TrendForce noted DRAM spot prices eased last week as customers struggled to absorb elevated prices. Google's memory saving TurboQuant unveiling last month reverberated notably, contributing to a selloff in chip stocks, though majors are still well in positive territory YTD. And despite geopolitical risks, memory market is set to remain tight and TrendForce projects DRAM prices to rise by more than 50% in the current quarter. Furthermore, Samsung starting to make progress in HBM rollout, making up lost ground against rival SK Hynix (000660.KS).

  • Southeast Asian nations' sovereign ratings at risk amid subsidies to offset rising fuel costs:

    • Nikkei discussed how several Southeast Asian countries risk downgrades in their credit ratings amid strains on public finances due to subsidies to offset rising fuel prices. Recall region heavily depends on Middle East oil imports while gasoline prices have surged since war in Iran broke out since end-Feb, prompting governments in Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand to resort to subsidies to quell public anxiety. Indonesia finance minister Purbaya told Bloomberg that Jakarta will hold off raising subsidized fuel prices while government will rely on other fiscal measures, including cuts in ministry spending and potential new export tax on coal to absorb hit while keeping deficit below legal limit. Thailand's new government under PM Anutin pledges to speed relief measures for vulnerable groups and slash unnecessary government spending to ensure financial discipline (Bloomberg) as its public debt nears ceiling of 70%. Meanwhile Philippine inflation spiked in March to highest in nearly two years (Bloomberg). Another concern is falling local currencies in the region, which might worsen inflation through higher import prices of essential items. One exception might be Malaysia that sees global investors pour money into its bonds as country benefits from higher oil revenue while ringgit firmer relative to ASEAN peers (Bloomberg).

  • Notable Gainers:

    • +7.5% 021240.KS (COWAY Co.): Netmarble to buy 2.1M shares in Coway for KRW150B in cash

    • +1.8% 005930.KS (Samsung Electronics): guides Q1 operating profit KRW57.20T vs StreetAccount KRW38.945T

    • +1.4% 3008.TT (LARGAN Precision): reports March revenue NT$5.42B, +10.8% y/y

  • Notable Decliners:

    • -10.3% 533155.IN (Jubilant FoodWorks): slowdown in Domino's India LFL growth to around 0.2%

    • -6.2% 6146.JP (DISCO Corp.): reports preliminary Q4 non-consolidated sales ¥104.9 vs year-ago ¥102.5B

    • -2.2% 3186.JP (Nextage): reports Q1 net income attributable ¥3.96B vs year-ago ¥1.13B

• Data:

  • Economic:

    • Japan

      • February household spending (1.8%) y/y vs consensus (0.8%) and (1.0%) in prior month

        • Spending +1.5% m/m vs consensus +2.6% and (2.5%) in prior month

    • Australia

      • February household spending +0.3% m/m vs consensus +0.2% and +0.3% in January

  • Markets:

    • Nikkei: 15.88 or +0.03% to 53429.56

    • Hang Seng: Closed

    • Shanghai Composite: 10.07 or +0.26% to 3890.16

    • Shenzhen Composite: 19.95 or +0.80% to 2518.39

    • ASX200: 149.30 or +1.74% to 8728.80

    • KOSPI: 44.45 or +0.82% to 5494.78

    • SENSEX: (56.79) or (0.08%) to 74050.06

  • Currencies:

    • $-¥: +0.06 or +0.04% to 159.7410

    • $-KRW: (10.90) or (0.72%) to 1498.0850

    • A$-$: +0.00 or +0.05% to 0.6923

    • $-INR: (0.06) or (0.07%) to 92.9003

    • $-CNY: (0.02) or (0.30%) to 6.8622