Asian stock markets mostly surged and oil prices receded on Friday, boosted by optimism that the United States and Iran will reach a deal to end their war that has hobbled global energy supplies.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 176 points, or 0.7 percent, to 25,182 on turnover of HK$462.07 billion.

The China enterprises index was 61 points, or 0.7 percent, up at 8,425 while the tech index was four points, or 0.1 percent, down at 4,884.

Across the border, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 30 points, or 0.73 percent, at 4,068 on turnover of 1.53 trillion yuan.

The Shenzhen Component Index fell 286 points, or 1.81 percent, to 15,575 on turnover of 1.79 trillion yuan while the ChiNext Index dropped 87 points, or 2.11 percent, to 4,037 on turnover of 850.3 billion yuan.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei share average rose 1,636 points, or 2.53 percent, to a record high of 66,329 on Friday, powered by renewed optimism for a near-term peace deal in the Middle East and enthusiasm about AI shares after strong earnings from Dell Technologies.

The benchmark, which also marked an all-time intraday peak at 66,505, is up 4.7 percent for the week.

In Seoul, the Kospi rose 290 points, or 3.55 percent, to an all-time high of 8,476 as Samsung Electronics jumped and the national pension fund decided to raise domestic investment.

The Kospi has surged 8 percent this week, after rising 4.7 percent last week.

"Recession risks are easing as oil prices moderate and the probability of worst-case scenarios fades," wrote Matthew Martin of Oxford Economics.

"While reduced risks from the war have helped, the improvement in equity prices is mostly because of a robust earnings season. The driver is overwhelmingly AI-related capital expenditure," he said. (AFP & Xinhua)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden