Stock Market Live Today: Asian shares rally

Asian equities moved higher on Monday after Iranian negotiators indicated that discussions with the United States had made headway, easing concerns that the fragile peace process was at risk of collapsing.

Supporting the positive sentiment, officials from Qatar and Pakistan issued a joint statement saying that the opening round of negotiations had concluded successfully and that progress had been achieved toward establishing a framework for a comprehensive agreement within the next 60 days.

The developments followed earlier tensions after US President Donald Trump warned of possible renewed military action against Iran, even as Vice President JD Vance held the first direct talks with Iranian representatives under the interim peace arrangement.

The negotiations were also clouded by Tehran’s announcement that it had once again shut the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping data showed a decline in vessel traffic through the key waterway, with 32 ships passing through on Friday compared with 26 on Saturday.

In the commodity market, Brent crude futures erased their initial gains and slipped 0.4% to $80.17 per barrel, significantly below the peak of $126.41 reached in May. US crude, however, remained 1.2% higher at $77.52 a barrel.

Japan’s Nikkei surged 1.9%, extending last week’s nearly 8% rally that carried the index to fresh record highs. South Korea’s benchmark market advanced another 2.6% after soaring more than 11% in the previous week, driven by strong demand for semiconductor-related stocks.

MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan rose 1.0%, while China’s blue-chip index remained largely unchanged.

US equity futures recovered from steeper early declines, with S&P 500 futures down 0.2% and Nasdaq futures lower by 0.3%. In Europe, EURO STOXX 50 futures slipped 0.1%, DAX futures were broadly flat, and FTSE futures edged up 0.1%.