Asian stocks soared to record highs on Thursday while the US dollar slipped and oil nursed steep losses as traders embraced the prospect of a peace deal in the Middle East, although the fate of the critical Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved.Japan's Nikkei returned from a long holiday to cross 62,000 for the first time, catching up on a blistering AI-led rally after robust earnings that has also catapulted South Korean and Taiwan stocks to records.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1 percent, hitting another all-time high. The index is up 7 percent so far this week.
Kyle Rodda, senior financial analyst at Capital.com, said the market moves on Thursday were justified as a deal would be a breakthrough.
"But we've seen this story before, and the rug could get pulled out of the market pretty quickly too. Ultimately, if we keep seeing progress in talks, Asian markets will keep rallying."
Iran said it was reviewing a peace proposal that sources said would formally end the war while leaving unresolved the key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has sent oil prices surging.
