Asian stocks rose sharply on Friday, led by chip and AI firms as investors brushed off concern over the stalled recovery of energy supplies through the critical Strait of Hormuz, with tit-for-tat attacks escalating between the United States and Iran.The renewed back-and-forth attacks have further eroded the fragile three-week-old ceasefire, bringing the spotlight back on oil prices and what they could mean for inflation and the global rates outlook.
Japan's bond market and currency lurched higher after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday the government wants to explore ways to encourage pension funds, including the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), to increase their holdings of domestic financial assets.
Brent crude futures were set for a 5 percent week-on-week rise, the strongest weekly performance since early May. But at $76.03 per barrel, Brent has given up most of the gains it picked up when the conflict began at the end of February.
"I'm looking at updates from the Middle East and things don't look good, but investors seem incredibly resilient to those risks at the moment, with tech again driving markets higher," said Nick Twidale, chief market strategist at ATFX Global in Sydney.
