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Persian Gulf, Oil Price Outlooks Buoy Asian Stocks Markets

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Asian stock markets rallied on Friday after US President Donald Trump overnight again signaled that a peace deal with Tehran is on the cusp.

Brent crude oil prices, which had touched above $95 a barrel on Thursday, dropped to the $86 range in Friday action, on hopes the Strait of Hormuz could reopen.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo exchanges finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher on Wall Street cues and gained thereafter, finishing up 2.8%.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1,802.77 to 66,020.04, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 153 to 71.

Leading the upside was materials producer Mitsui Kinzoku, up 17.6%, while semiconductor components maker Taiyo Yuden declined 5.4%.

In other news, memory chip and device maker Kioxia gained 7.6% on the day, supplanting Toyota Motor (TM) as Japan's most valuable listed company by market capitalization.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and tracked upwards, closing up 1.9%.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 468.81 to 24,718.10, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 82 to 11. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.4%.

Leading the upside was Chow Tai Fook Jewelry, gaining 15.2% after reporting earnings, while computer-maker Lenovo declined 2.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.1% to 4,031.51.

On other regional exchanges, the South Korean KOSPI rose 4.6%; the Taiwan TWSE gained 2.4%; the Australian ASX 200 advanced 2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.8%; and the Thai Set rose 1.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 2.3%

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 2.7% on the day.

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