Stocks across Asia gained in early trade on Thursday as a combination of geopolitical negotiation signals and a wave of corporate earnings supported risk sentiment. Investors also prepared for a busy slate of economic data and pivotal quarterly reports.
MSCI C s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, putting the benchmark on course for a third straight day of gains, while Japan n Nikkei climbed 1.5%. S&P 500 e-mini futures were 0.1% higher.
U.S. markets advanced overnight, with the S&P 500 rising 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.6%, supported by strong quarterly results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley that helped lift U.S. indices to record highs. About 6% of companies have reported for the quarter so far, and of those, 84% have beaten analysts expectations.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs said in research that they "remain constructive overall" on emerging market equities and expect underlying profit growth to be strong. They added that earnings across the region will be "driven by AI-related demand, which should be relatively insulated from the direct impacts of the oil shock."
Investors are looking ahead to several economic releases, notably Australian jobs figures and Chinese GDP data, which could influence market direction. In corporate news relevant to the technology supply chain, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is slated to report quarterly results, with market commentary pointing to an expected 50% jump in net profit as demand for advanced chips remains elevated.
Oil prices moved lower in early Asia trading, with Brent crude down 0.4% to open at $94.55 a barrel. The decline came after a source briefed by Tehran told Reuters that Iran might consider permitting vessels to transit the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack as part of proposals offered in talks with the United States.
Precious metals and digital assets showed mixed moves - gold recovered 0.8% to $4,829.24, while bitcoin was essentially flat at $74,832.83 and ether slipped 0.1% to $2,360.71.
Overall, market participants appear to be balancing optimism around easing geopolitical tensions and solid corporate results with caution ahead of important economic releases and further earnings updates.