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Sinking Oil Prices Spur Asian Stock Markets Higher

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Asian stock markets rallied on Monday following statements from Tehran and Washington that Persian Gulf hostilities may soon cease, and on resultant tumbling oil prices.

Brent oil futures traded down 5.2% to $82.76 a barrel during Asian trading hours.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 5% as traders waded back into tech issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 3,297.46 to 69,317.50, striking a fresh all-time high, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 171 to 51.

Leading the upside was semiconductor materials maker Taiyo Yuden, up 22.6%, while CyberAgent declined 5.1%.

In economic news, Japan's tertiary (services) industry index increased 1.3% in April from March, and by 2.2% on the year, reported the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, closing up 0.5% as tech-sector gains offset declines in oil and property shares.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 124.57 to 24,842.67 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 52 to 41. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.3% on the day, but the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.9%.

Leading the upside was computer maker Lenovo, gaining 9.3%, while Aluminum Corporation of China declined 8.5%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.6% to 4,096.47.

On the other regional exchanges, the South Korean KOSPI rose 5.2%; the Taiwan TWSE advanced 2.8%; the Australian ASX 200 gained 1.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1%, and the Thai Set was steady. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 2.9% on the day.

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