Equity Alert
Asian mkts mixed amid US-Iran tensions; Kospi hits record high
This story was originally published at 08:51 IST on 21 April 2026
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Equity Alert: Asian mkts mixed amid US-Iran tensions; Kospi hits record high
MUMBAI--0830 IST--Asian indices were mixed in early trade Tuesday even as market participants assessed the impact of renewed tensions between the US and Iran as the two warring countries approach the expiry of their ceasefire. South Korea's Kospi rose 2% and led the gains among its peers, hitting a record high, followed by Japan's Nikkei 225 which rose over 1%. China's CSI 300 deviated from most peers and was 0.6% lower.
On Monday, Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused US President Donald Trump of putting pressure on Tehran to surrender. He said Iran would not negotiate under threats. This was after Trump on Monday threatened "lots of bombs (will) start going off" if Tehran does not agree to a deal before the expiry of the ceasefire. Trump's comments came even as a US delegation was in the works to return to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks, CNBC reported.
The unprecedented gains in Kospi were led by the rise in stocks of chipmaking giants. Shares of index heavyweight SK Hynix rose over 4%, hitting an intraday high ahead of its quarterly earnings on Thursday. Shares of its peer Samsung Electronics saw more modest gains. They were up nearly 2%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng showed marginal gains early in the session. Tuesday, Victory Giant, a circuit-board supplier to Nvidia, debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its shares rose over 60% from its initial offer price. The company raised $2.6 billion from its initial public offering, which was the largest in the city so far in 2026, South China Morning Post reported.
Following were the levels of major indices in Asia at 0830 IST:
| Indices | Levels | Change in % |
| CSI 300 Index | 4745.9592 | (-)0.24 |
| Hang Seng Index | 26364.05 | 0.01 |
| Nikkei 225 Day | 59596.1 | 1.31 |
| TOPIX FIRST SECTION | 3788.27 | 0.3 |
| KOSPI | 6350.69 | 2.12 |
| FTSE Singapore Strait Times | 5015 | 0.22 |
| S P/ ASX 200 INDEX | 8934.8 | (-)0.21 |
(Shruti Nair)
Equity Alert: US indices end lower, Nasdaq snaps 13-day winning streak
MUMBAI--0750 IST--US indices ended their three-week winning streak and closed lower Monday as renewed tensions between the US and Iran weighed on investor sentiment. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended nearly flat, its peer, the Nasdaq Composite, ended 0.3% lower, after gaining for the past 13 consecutive sessions. Crude oil prices fell marginally Tuesday but still hovered around the $95-per-barrel mark at 0740 IST after resuming their climb this week on the news of the re-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Shares of technology majors Meta and Netflix ended 2.6% lower on Monday, with the former ending its nine-day winning streak. Market participants await the quarterly results of Lockheed Martin and IBM scheduled later this week to assess the impact of the US-Iran war on corporate earnings. Tesla's earnings, set to come out Wednesday, will be the first among the "Magnificent Seven" group of stocks.
As the expiry of the US-Iran ceasefire approaches, investors remain wary of the mixed messages coming from both the warring parties. Monday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the country is considering peace talks with the US in Pakistan. Later, however, Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in a social media post accused US President Donald Trump of using the US naval blockade to put pressure on Iran, saying that Iran rejected negotiations under threat. Tensions escalated after the US navy seized an Iranian cargo ship in the Strait of Oman over the weekend. Subsequently, Iran refused to participate in the second round of negotiations with the US in Pakistan and closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Following are the closing levels of US indices on Monday:
| US Indices | Levels | Change in % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 49442.56 | (-)0.01 |
| NASDAQ Composite | 24404.393 | (-)0.26 |
| S&P 500 | 7109.14 | (-)0.24 |
(Shruti Nair)
US$1 = INR 93.13
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Ashish Shirke
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