-- Asian stock markets rallied on Thursday as global crude prices continued to slip on media reports that Tehran and Washington may be nearing an agreement that could open the Strait of Hormuz as part of larger Persian Gulf peace negotiations.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges. New record highs were set on equity indices in Seoul, Taiwan, and Tokyo.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher after a five-day hiatus and rose to the close, finishing up 5.6% as traders weighed Middle East outlooks and easing oil prices.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 3,320.72 to 62,833.84, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 173 to 49.
Leading the upside was semiconductor components maker Ibiden, up 22.4%, while oil driller Inpex fell 6.5%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, finishing up 1.6% on strength in property and tech issues.
The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 412.50 to 26,626.28, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 79 to 11. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 3.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 3%.
Leading the upside was toolmaker Techtronic, gaining 10.3%, while PetroChina declined 8.5%.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 4,180.09.
On the other regional exchanges, the South Korean KOSPI rose 1.4%; the Taiwan TWSE advanced 1.9%; the Australian ASX 200 gained 1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.3%, but the Thai Set declined 0.6%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.1%
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 2.1%, to strike a fresh all-time high.