Rapid surge and circuit breaker! Asia-Pacific stock markets make a big comeback! Iran announces: The Strait of Hormuz will be open for two weeks

Full-scale counteroffensive.

As tensions in the Middle East rapidly eased, stocks in South Korea and Japan surged across the board. South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index rose by more than 6% at one point, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped by more than 4%. After the Korea Exchange launched the KOSPI index circuit breaker mechanism following a 5% rise in KOSPI 200 futures, algorithmic trading was paused for 5 minutes. International oil prices continued to plunge. WTI crude oil futures fell by more than 19% at one point, with the day’s low at $91.05 per barrel. On the news front, in the early hours of the 8th, Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi announced on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council that the Strait of Hormuz would achieve safe navigation within two weeks.

According to the latest report from CCTV News, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited delegations from Iran and the United States to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, to hold talks. Shehbaz Sharif also said that the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. would take effect at 3:30 a.m. Iran time on the 8th (8:00 a.m. Beijing time on the 8th).

It is understood that, as of local time on the 8th, the information was learned from the Iranian side that Iran’s 10-point plan submitted to the U.S. includes acceptance of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities.

Stocks in South Korea and Japan surge across the board

In the early morning of April 8, Beijing time, stocks in South Korea and Japan opened higher and kept rising. As of the time of writing, South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index was up more than 5%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up more than 4%. Samsung Electronics shares rose by more than 8%, and SK hynix shares rose by more than 9%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose by more than 2%.

According to a report from CCTV News, in a statement released in the early hours of the 8th, local time, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that, based on the Supreme Leader’s recommendation and with approval from the Supreme National Security Council, it accepted the ceasefire proposal put forward by Pakistan.

The statement said that in this war, nearly all of Iran’s targets had been achieved. The enemy “suffered a historic and complete defeat.” Iran would “continue the struggle until its great achievements are consolidated and establish a new security and political landscape in the region.” It also decided to hold talks in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, to determine the details—“consolidating the results of victory through political negotiations within at most 15 days.”

The statement also said that Iran rejected all plans proposed by the enemy and formulated a 10-point plan, which was submitted to the United States through Pakistan. The statement emphasized that all agreements reached through the talks would become binding international law and would bring Iran an important diplomatic victory.

The statement called on all Iranian people to trust and support this process supervised by Iran’s top leadership, and to strictly avoid divisive remarks. The statement also said that if the talks fail, Iran is already prepared for fighting.

Earlier, U.S. President Trump posted on social media saying that, at Pakistan’s request, the U.S. decided to put on hold the previously planned military strike against Iran.

On the 8th, the Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a notice stating that Iran would hold two-week political negotiations with the United States in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital—“to confirm the victory results achieved on the ground.”

Iran said that the objective of negotiations with the United States is to politically confirm Iran’s achievements on the battlefield within at most 15 days. It was reported that talks with the United States do not mean ending the war; only after finalizing details under Iran’s proposed “10-point plan” would Iran accept the end of the war.

Also, according to a report by The New York Times, a U.S. official said that, under the two-week ceasefire agreement, U.S. military strikes against Iran have been stopped.

The U.S. official also said: “The ceasefire will begin on the evening of the 7th (U.S. time), but we believe it may take some time for the order to reach Iran’s frontline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units.”

A senior White House official told CNN in the evening of the 7th that Israel has also agreed to suspend bombing operations during U.S.-Iran talks.

A senior Israeli security official said that the ceasefire agreement regarding Iran would cover Lebanon.

Iran announces: The Strait of Hormuz will open for two weeks

As tensions in the Middle East rapidly eased, international oil prices continued to plunge. As of 08:00 Beijing time, WTI crude oil futures were down more than 16%, trading at $94.15 per barrel; the drop in Brent crude oil futures widened to 16%. The U.S. Dollar Index also continued to weaken, falling below the 99 level for the first time since March 23, down 0.74% for the day.

According to CCTV News, early in the morning of the 8th, local time, Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said that in response to Pakistan’s request, he, on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced that if the U.S. and Israel stop their attacks on Iran, Iran’s armed forces will stop counterattacks. On the premise of coordination with Iran’s armed forces, over the next two weeks, vessels would be able to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, as long as technological restrictions allow.

A White House official said at local time on April 7 that the U.S. ceasefire with Iran would take effect when Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz.

In a social media post in the early hours of the 8th, local time, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz said: “Diplomatic efforts aimed at peacefully ending the current Middle East war are being firmly and powerfully advanced, and are expected to achieve tangible success in the near term.” To leave room for the diplomatic process, he asked Trump to postpone the “final deadline” by two weeks, and also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a show of goodwill.

Iran’s latest announcement

According to CCTV News, in a statement released in the early hours of the 8th, local time, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced that, based on the Supreme Leader’s recommendation and with approval from the Supreme National Security Council, it accepted the ceasefire proposal put forward by Pakistan.

The statement said that in this war, nearly all of Iran’s targets had been achieved. The enemy “suffered a historic and complete defeat,” and the Iranian side would “continue the struggle until its great achievements are consolidated, and establish a new security and political landscape in the region,” and decided to hold talks in Tehran—sorry, in Islamabad—to determine details—“consolidating the results of victory through political negotiations within at most 15 days.”

The statement also said that Iran rejected all the plans proposed by the enemy and formulated a ten-point plan, which would be submitted to the U.S. through Pakistan. The plan emphasized the following key points:

Coordinating with Iran’s armed forces to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz;

Ending the war against all members of the “Axis of Resistance” and putting an end to Israeli regime aggression;

U.S. operational forces withdrawing from all bases and deployment points in the region;

Establishing a safe transit protocol in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure Iran has the leading position;

Fully compensating Iran for its losses based on assessment results;

Lifting all first- and second-tier sanctions as well as Security Council-related resolutions;

Releasing all Iranian assets and properties frozen overseas;

Finally, all of these matters should be approved in binding Security Council resolutions.

The statement emphasized that all agreements reached through negotiations will become binding international law and will bring an important diplomatic victory to the Iranian nation.

（Source: China Securities Journal）