Japanese Shares Close Higher After Trump Signals at End of Iran War
Japanese equities closed the week with gains lifted by optimism around President Donald Trump's claim that a resolution to the conflict with Iran has been reached.The Nikkei 225 jumped 1,802.77 points or 2.8% to close at 66,020.04.According to media reports, Trump claimed that the US "ended the war" with Iran and canceled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran.Sentiment was also boosted by the decline in global oil prices, which will help import-dependent Asian countries like Japan. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Takaichi told the cabinet on Thursday that Japan's July crude imports will fully avoid the Strait of Hormuz.On the economic front, Japan's industrial production rose 2% year over year in April, but was slower than the 2.4% expansion in March, according to final estimates from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) released Friday.Japan's capacity utilization rate fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% month over month in April, easing from the 1.2% decline in the prior month, as per METI's estimates.On the corporate side, NTT Inc.'s (TYO:9432) unit, NTT Global Data Centers, is said to be working with Citigroup to secure new capital of at least $1 billion to invest in development projects in the US, according to a Bloomberg News report on Thursday, citing sources.Also, Japan's Fair Trade Commission is investigating Haseko Reform, a subsidiary of Haseko Corp (TYO:1808). The details of the probe were not disclosed.