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StreetAccount Summary - Asian Market Recap: Nikkei (0.73%), Hang Seng (0.54%), Shanghai Composite (0.72%) as of 04:10 ET

Apr 09 ,2026

• Synopsis:

  • Asia equities ended mostly lower Thursday but closed well off their troughs and within a narrow range in a cautious session. Japan, Greater China, Singapore and Southeast Asia benchmarks all fell while Australia and Taiwan posted small gains following weak openings. India underperforming again as the rupee comes back under pressure and oil ticks higher. US futures indicate a soft opening, Europe down in the first hour. US dollar paring early losses now near unchanged, Asia currencies weaker in afternoon trade. Treasuries mixed, JGB yields higher alongside other Asia sovereign yields. Crude futures higher with both WTI and Brent trading around $98/bl. Precious metals down, base metals drifting lower.

  • Asia markets back on edge Thursday after cracks started to appear in the gulf ceasefire. Israel continued to attack Lebanon, saying it wasn't part of the ceasefire deal made this week but Iran said peace talks were unreasonable while those attacks continued. Meanwhile a trickle of ships began to pass through the Strait of Hormuz but only via Iran's coastline, indicating full and free transit was still next to nil. The developments placed pressure on oil prices, with both brent and WTI drifting back towards $100/bl again while the dollar rose in early trading although since stabilized. Bonds were generally stable too amid growing debate that sovereigns will take months to recover to their pre-war level given high energy prices and inflation.

  • Another day of few regional developments to knock equities off their cautious trajectory. RBNZ Governor Breman said New Zealand's growth remains tied to developments in the middle east and said the bank will act decisively if prices increase. Thailand's central bank said it would keep interest rates stable for 'as long as possible' to support the economy despite forecasts for higher inflation. Japan's March consumer sentiment deteriorated by the most since the early months of the pandemic, and missed estimates.

  • Mitsui OSK Lines (9104.JP) said it will monitor the Gulf ceasefire before allowing its ships to attempt a Hormuz transit. BYD (1211.HK) said it will open as many as 20 sales locations with partners in Canada this year as Ottawa seeks alternatives to US. Eastern Air Logistics (601156.CH) shareholder Legend Holdings (3396.HK) has sold its entire 11.3% stake in the company to China Logistics Group (0GCPYN-E). Hanwha Aerospace (012450.KS) has suspended plans to buy Poongsan's (103140.KS) defense division. Lotte Chemical (011170.KS) is to spin off its Daesan Plant unit, then pursue a merger with HD Hyundai Chemical to strengthen vertical integration. Shinhan Bank (Shinhan Financial Group, 055550.KS) is to sell $2.1B Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) shares in one of South Korea's biggest ever block trades.

• Digest:

  • US-Iran ceasefire in jeopardy after fighting continued:

    • Fighting continued in the Middle East after the ceasefire. Most of the attention on Israel's largest assault on Lebanon yet on Hezbollah targets and jeopardizing the truce (Bloomberg). In response, Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again and threatened a heavy response. Tasnim news agency reported Iran could withdraw from the deal if Israel's campaign in Lebanon continues.

    • US VP Vance later said Israel has proposed to restrain itself in Lebanon as long as US-Iran negotiations are taking place (Axios).

    • Conflicting accounts of the terms of agreement already causing issues -- whether Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire being one of them (Reuters). Vance and Israel insisted Lebanon was not part of the deal.

    • Even bigger point of contention regarding nuclear weapons development. Trump said Iran had agreed to stop enriching uranium and White House said Iran has indicated it would turn over its existing stocks. Iran lead negotiator Mohammed Bager Qalibaf said it was allowed to continue enrichment under the terms of the ceasefire.

    • Vance identified three different 10-point proposals, two of them being false and the first of which was circulated in the media (CNN).

    • In a series of Truth Social comments, President Trump clarified US conditions include no nuclear weapons and an open Strait of Hormuz. US will maintain military presence in the vicinity until the "real agreement" is complied with.

    • While strongly criticizing media outlets for circulating fake versions of Iran's 10-point proposal, said many of the US 15 points have already been agreed to. Verified there will be no uranium enrichment though they are discussing tariff and sanctions relief.

    • Safe passage through the Strait remains far from certain. Iran foreign minister said ships that wanted to pass would need to coordinate with Iran's military and there would be limitations on the number. Reports of Iran charging a toll for passage has been a concern for weeks, and Trump added to the confusion by floating the idea that US might jointly operate a toll system with Iran (Axios).

    • White House announced Vance will lead the US delegation for direct talks with Iran in Islamabad at the end of this week. Special envoy Witkoff and Kushner also to attend (Bloomberg).

  • Global bond markets seen slow to recover, ceasefire alleviates some hawkish monetary policy expectations:

    • Reuters discussed doubts global bond markets will stage a full recovery from the war-driven selloff. Even if there is peace, energy prices and inflation expected to remain higher for longer. Latest fighting after the truce have raised questions about its viability. Investors suggested pre-war expectations for rate cuts in countries such as US, Britain and Norway won't return, while some argue the ceasefire may even tilt risks toward higher rates on the lower risk of slower growth from severe oil shortages. Article noted FTSE World Government Bond Index fell more than 3% in March, the sharpest monthly drop in 11 and a half years. Sentiment so far backed up by latest central bank meetings -- RBNZ and RBI -- which contained caution towards inflation risks. However, Reuters separately highlighted substantial swings in Fed Fund futures, where implied probability of a rate cut this year went from as high as 65% to settle around 25%, though still a notable shift from a tilt towards a hike before the ceasefire. Forewarned that upcoming March US CPI data expected to show the biggest rise since the height of the post-pandemic bounce in 2022 that set off an aggressive round of Fed rate hikes. Outlook largely dependent on whether Fed sees current elevated inflation pressure as temporary. There was a more pronounced pullback in hawkish views elsewhere after the ceasefire, with markets dialing back previous expectations of multiple rate hikes by ECB and BOE.

  • Japan's latest sentiment indicators come in notably weak:

    • Consumer confidence index was 33.3 in March, well below consensus 38.3 following 39.7 in the prior month. Sequential 6.4 pt drop was the largest since the Covid shock in Mar/Apr 2020. All components were notably weaker. Results were intuitively seen to be a reaction to the spike in fuel prices amid the war in Iran. Inflation expectations logged a sharp rebound in the proportion of respondents looking for higher prices over the next year to 91.9%. More than reverses a drop in February (unclear what caused this, possibly recent declines in gasoline and rice prices) and back near a record high of 93.7% in May-02. Follows sharp declines in the March Economy Watchers Survey sentiment indexes designed to gauge business activity closely tied to consumption. Current conditions index also fell at the fastest pace since the pandemic year, weakness more pronounced by a double-digit drop in the outlook index. Fuel price impacts predictably wide-reaching across consumption sectors (retail, dining, other services) as well as corporate manufacturers and nonmanufacturers. Results contrast with positive direction in the BOJ and Reuters Tankan surveys released earlier, though these were discounted to some extent with responses submitted in the first half of March, while the latest data captured the latter part of the month, particularly the Economy Watchers Survey for which the survey period is from the 25th through the end of each month. Recall that BOJ was leaning hawkish at the March policy meeting as available data had not reflected much of the Middle East impact and higher fuel prices in real time reinforced inflation risks.

  • Exodus from India equities continues despite middle east ceasefire:

    • Overseas investors sold India equities for 23rd consecutive session Tuesday, Bloomberg data showed, pulling net $17.8B from India in late February through to 7-April. Data showed six of these days saw net outflow of more than $1B with total YTD already near record $19B seen for whole of 2025. Wednesday saw more net selling by overseas investors despite market uptick, article said, citing provisional data. But Sensex and Nifty 50 benchmarks only modest underperformers vis-à-vis regional exchanges as $20.6B of domestic institutional funds bought local stocks to offset exodus. Outflow added to pressure on rupee, which reached record low 94.6 per dollar before several RBI measures in past two weeks. India benchmarks under pressure even before Iran war erupted with its large-cap software services stocks underperforming from concerns over AI exposure. Investors concerned impact higher crude prices will have on public accounts, inflation and RBI response.

  • China weighs financial support for its biggest airlines hit by rising fuel costs:

    • Bloomberg citing people with knowledge reported Chinese authorities are exploring financial relief measures for its state-run airlines as they are grappling with soaring fuel costs since war in Middle East broke out. Options included government subsidies, preferential tax treatment and state-backed low-interest loans, in what could be biggest support for the sector since Covid, although all the deliberations still at preliminary stage. Sources added that mergers are also being considered. Recall China's top three carriers, China Southern Airlines (1055.HK), China Eastern Airlines (670.HK) and Air China (753.HK) have already struggled to return to profit since Covid. The three cumulatively lost CNY209B ($30B) from 2020 to 2025. Soaring fuel prices recently piling more pressure on the sector as lack of hedging by Chinese airlines makes them more vulnerable to spikes in price volatility. Meanwhile analysts said the airlines may get some reprieve should the fragile ceasefire between Iran and US hold and more ships could traverse through Strait of Hormuz.

  • Notable Gainers:

    • +7.7% 2670.JP (ABC-MART): reports FY results; operating profit ahead of FactSet estimates

    • +5.6% 011170.KS (Lotte Chemical): on report of anticipated petrochemical restructuring

    • +2.6% 3918.HK (NagaCorp): reports Q1 operational highlights

  • Notable Decliners:

    • -9.6% 3391.JP (TSURUHA Holdings): reports FY results

    • -8.1% 8570.JP (AEON Financial Service): reports FY results; issues FY26-30 medium-term management plan

    • -4.8% 600415.CH (Zhejiang China Commodities City Group): reports FY results

    • -3.7% 6183.JP (BELLSYSTEM24 Holdings): reports FY results; formulates medium-term management plan

    • -2.2% 4506.JP (Sumitomo Pharma): to issue 51.3M shares by way of public offering

    • -0.6% 601156.CH (Eastern Air Logistics): holder Legend Holdings sells its entire 179.3M shares to China Logistics Group at CNY15.156/share

• Data:

  • Economic:

    • Japan March

      • Consumer confidence index 33.3 vs consensus 38.3 and 40.0 in prior month

  • Markets:

    • Nikkei: (413.10) or (0.73%) to 55895.32

    • Hang Seng: (140.62) or (0.54%) to 25752.40

    • Shanghai Composite: (28.83) or (0.72%) to 3966.17

    • Shenzhen Composite: (15.91) or (0.61%) to 2612.01

    • ASX200: 21.40 or +0.24% to 8973.20

    • KOSPI: (94.33) or (1.61%) to 5778.01

    • SENSEX: (857.98) or (1.11%) to 76704.92

  • Currencies:

    • $-¥: +0.38 or +0.24% to 158.9530

    • $-KRW: +1.47 or +0.10% to 1480.0800

    • A$-$: (0.00) or (0.23%) to 0.7027

    • $-INR: +0.41 or +0.44% to 92.7800

    • $-CNY: +0.01 or +0.12% to 6.8384