Asia-Pacific markets open higher as investors assess Trump's mixed messaging on Iran war

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A pedestrian walks past an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on March 23, 2026.

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Asia-Pacific markets climbed on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street gains, as traders continued to assess Iran war-related developments.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure if a peace deal is not reached in less than 24 hours, while also signaling that the Iranian leadership was negotiating in earnest.

Trump reiterated his demand for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Tuesday, which would allow traffic to start flowing again through the vital route for global energy supplies — warning the U.S. would decimate every bridge and power plant within four hours of that deadline not being met.

The U.S. and Iran are weighing a framework plan to end their 5-week-old conflict, with Tehran pushing back against Trump’s pressure to swiftly reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary ceasefire, and repeating its demand for a lasting end to the war.

Iran has rejected the U.S. ceasefire proposal and floated its own 10-points, including an end to hostilities in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction, according to Axios.

Trump responded to the proposal, saying that “They made a … significant proposal. Not good enough, but they have made a very significant step. We will see what happens.”

The West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.7% at $113.25 per barrel as of 7.20 p.m. ET. Brent crude gained about 0.68% to end Monday’s session at $109.77 per barrel.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.4% in early Asia trade.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.35% and the broad-based Topix added 0.62%. South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi advanced 1.5%, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.5%.

Hong Kong markets remained closed on Tuesday for the Easter holiday.

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Overnight on Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500 futures were little changed and Nasdaq 100 futures were down about 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 48 points, or 0.1%.

During Monday’s regular session, the S&P 500 rose 0.44%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.54%. The blue-chip Dow gained 165.21 points, or 0.36%.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.

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