Asian shares mostly gain as focus turns to a deadline issued by President Trump on Iran

TOKYO– Asian markets open for trade mostly rose Monday as investors continued to closely monitor the war in Iran, soaring oil prices and what President Donald Trump might say next.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7% to 53,514.39 in afternoon trading. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.4% to 5,450.33. Trade was closed in Australia for Easter, as well as in Hong Kong and Shanghai for a traditional Chinese holiday.

Trump has threatened to hit Iran’s critical infrastructure hard if the country’s government does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz before Tuesday’s deadline. But there is no sign that Iran is easing the closure of the strait crucial to global oil supplies.

The market remains focused on oil prices.

Benchmark U.S. crude lost 42 cents to $111.12 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 64 cents to $109.67 a barrel. Energy markets were closed Friday, but prices have risen recently on fears that the war in Iran may last longer than expected.

The United States depends on the Persian Gulf for only a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market. Some countries, such as resource-poor Japan, import a large portion of their energy needs and rely heavily on access to the Strait of Hormuz.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently told lawmakers that Japan was releasing its reserves and working on alternative routes. South Korea’s Commerce Ministry said it plans to send at least five ships to Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks to establish new oil transport routes in the Red Sea.

“As we enter the first full trading week of April, the word uncertainty is paramount. Last year it was focused on the impact of ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, this year it is the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Iranian war,” said Jay Woods, an analyst at Freedom Capital Markets in New York.

American markets were closed for Good Friday and will reopen on Monday. Some European markets were also not traded on Friday.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 159.56 Japanese yen on Monday, from 159.63. The euro costs $1.1523, up from $1.1517.

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Associated Press writers Kim Tong-Hyung in Seoul and Matt Ott in Washington contributed to this report.

Yuri Kageyama is on the threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama