Asian stocks ticked up early on Friday but gains were capped as traders questioned the durability of this week's US-Iran ceasefire and remained wary of fragile hopes for Israel-Lebanon peace talks.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 139 points, or 0.54 percent, to open at 25,891.

The China enterprises index was 43 points, or 0.5 percent, higher at 8,655 while the tech index was 22 points, or 0.5 percent, up at 4,844.

Up north, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened up 19 points, or 0.49 percent, at 3,985.

The Shenzhen Component Index was 101 points, or 0.73 percent, higher at 14,098 while the ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was up 0.96 percent at 3,355.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.5 percent, led by South Korea's Kospi, which opened 98 points, or 1.7 percent, up at 5,876. The South Korean benchmark's gains widened to 121 points, or 2.1 percent, to hit 5,899 at one point before noon.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average opened up 370 points, or 0.66 percent, at 56,265. Like the Kospi, the Japanese benchmark's gains were pushing almost to the 908 mark, or 1.62 percent, to hit 56,803 at one point before midday.

"The US-Iran ceasefire led to a sharp recovery in Asian markets but the risk-on sentiment got tested yesterday," said Rupal Agarwal, Asia quant strategist at Bernstein in Singapore.

"We believe this could be the beginning of the end and is presenting an opportunity for investors to focus on pre-war trends and fundamentals," she said. "We recommend adding back some beaten-down names."

On Thursday, the S&P 500 ⁠rose 0.6 percent, with MSCI's benchmark of global equities making modest gains after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ⁠said he wa ⁠seeking direct talks with Beirut.

Brent crude rose 1 percent to US$96 a barrel as trading resumed ⁠in Asia, after Hezbollah launched a missile at Israel, triggering ‌air raid sirens in parts of the country, including in Tel Aviv.

The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to shipping, with marine traffic at well below 10 percent of normal volumes on Thursday ‌as Tehran asserted its control of the strategic waterway that typically carries one fifth of global oil and gas shipments.

The closure of the strait ⁠during the six-week Iran war sent shockwaves through global markets as oil prices surged and energy supplies tightened.

US President Donald Trump weighed in with a blunt warning. In a post on Truth Social, he said Iran was doing a "very poor job" of allowing oil to pass through the strait.

"That is not the agreement ‌we have!" he wrote, underscoring Washington's frustration as the market fallout intensified. (Reuters & Xinhua)



Edited by Raymond Yeung