Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ahn Young-joon)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-06-12T04:29:12Z<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (AP) \u2014 Asian shares climbed sharply on Friday, tracking big Wall Street gains, and oil prices slipped after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed there was a breakthrough<\/a><\/span> in talks to end the Iran war.<\/p>\n U.S. futures edged higher. <\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s Kospi jumped 7.8% to 8,370.82, narrowing losses from earlier this month from sell-offs of shares related to artificial intelligence.<\/a><\/span> The Kospi has roughly doubled over the past six months, with a record closing high of 8.801.49 on June 2.<\/p>\n Samsung Electronics, South Korea\u2019s most valuable company, advanced 11.2%. Computer chipmaker SK Hynix rose 7.2%.<\/p>\n Tokyo\u2019s Nikkei\u2019s 225 gained 3.5% to 66,442.95, also led by gains for technology stocks. SoftBank Group, a multinational investment holding company with a strong AI focus, was up 2%. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 10.3%.<\/p>\n Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng gained 1.8% to 24,689.32 and the Shanghai Composite index rose 1.6% to 4,050.51.<\/p>\n In Australia, the S&P\/ASX 200 traded 1.9% higher to 8,798.10.<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s Taiex gained 2.6%, while India\u2019s Sensex advanced 1.2%. <\/p>\n The renewed investor optimism came after Trump said Thursday he had called off military strikes<\/a><\/span> against Iran. He asserted that the U.S. had made \u201ca great settlement of the war with Iran,\u201d adding that an extension of the shaky ceasefire between the two sides could be finalized in \u201cthe next few days.\u201d Few details were offered.<\/p>\n Global markets retreated earlier in the week as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated. High oil prices have added to inflationary pressures globally as the Strait of Hormuz<\/a><\/span>, a key waterway for the world\u2019s oil and gas transit, remained largely closed.<\/p>\n