Nikkei 225 Hits Record High on US-Iran Peace Breakthrough
Japanese shares surged to an all-time high and closed with gains on Monday, as investors reacted to the news of a peace agreement between the US and Iran to be signed later this week.The Nikkei 225 soared 3,297.46 points, or 4.99% to 69,317.50.Donald Trump, President of the United States, declared that a ceasefire has been agreed upon with Iran, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be free of tolls."The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He later added that, "This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region", and hinted that a more comprehensive peace agreement with Iran would follow.The unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz will be a huge relief for oil-import-dependent countries in Asia, including Japan, as the war in the Middle East led to production cuts and price hikes across industries.Investors are also closely eyeing the decisions by the U.S. and Japan's central banks this week.On the home front, British and Japanese leaders are set to finalize an 18 billion pound sterling agreement expected to create "tens of thousands of new jobs" in offshore wind, infrastructure, and finance, according to a statement on Saturday.Under the deal, several Japanese companies committed 5-year investments to UK projects, including 2 billion pounds sterling by Mitsubishi Estate(TYO:3481), 3.8 billion pounds sterling by Mitsui Fudosan (TYO:8801), and 500 million pounds sterling by Nomura Real Estate (TYO:3231).On the corporate side, Iyogin (TYO:5830) has begun purchasing Japanese government bonds for the first time in 10 years, starting with small amounts of super-long debt in April, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing CEO Kenji Miyoshi in a recent interview.