Just now! Surge, circuit breaker! The Asia-Pacific stock markets, a major rebound! Trump announces: sanctions will be lifted!

A Huge Reversal.

After U.S. President Donald Trump said the fighting was essentially over, sentiment in financial markets was significantly boosted. This morning, after the Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened, major indexes all surged across the board. South Korea’s composite index at one point jumped more than 5%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at one point rose more than 3%. After the South Korean Exchange launched the KOSPI index circuit breaker mechanism following a 5% surge in KOSPI 200 index futures, algorithmic trading was paused for 5 minutes. Overnight, all three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher together, with the Nasdaq up 1.38% and tech stocks broadly higher.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, President Trump said on the 9th at a press conference that he would lift some oil-related sanctions in order to temper oil prices. Trump also said that if the timing was right, the U.S. Navy would escort through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned on the 9th that as long as the United States and Israel continue to carry out military strikes against Iran, security in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be restored.

Trump: Will Lift Sanctions

In the early hours of March 10 Beijing time, the Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened sharply higher. South Korea’s composite index opened up more than 5%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened about 1.5% higher, and then the gains quickly expanded, at one point jumping more than 3%; the MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 1.3% to 238.80 points.

Some analysts noted that as Trump hinted that the fighting was “essentially over,” and the finance ministers of the Group of Seven said they may take measures to temper oil prices, market panic sentiments dissipated. Short-covering and bargain-buying drove a major late-day rebound in risk assets.

On March 10, according to Xinhua News Agency, U.S. President Trump said on the 9th at a press conference that because strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran caused market turmoil, he would lift some oil-related sanctions in order to temper oil prices.

He did not elaborate in detail, but it is understood that the United States has already issued a 30-day temporary exemption last week, allowing currently stranded Russian oil at sea to be sold to India.

Trump also said that the war against Iran “will end” “soon,” but “not” by the end of this week.

When asked about navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said that if Iran affects global crude oil supply, he would hit it more forcefully; if the timing was right, the U.S. Navy would escort through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said that the increase in international oil prices was lower than his expectations, and that he had already anticipated that energy prices would rise before launching the action against Iran.

In addition, Trump also mentioned topics related to Venezuela, a call on the same day with Russian President Putin, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and issues related to Cuba.

Before the press conference on the 9th, in another media interview, Trump also discussed the newly elected top leader of Iran, Mujtaba Khamenei, and again said he was “not happy,” adding that it was a “huge mistake.”

In addition, to respond to the energy supply crisis, on the 9th French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Cyprus, said that France will maintain its military presence in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, including deploying multiple warships such as aircraft carriers. The eventual deployment area may ultimately include the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard regional shipping security and European interests.

Stuart Katz, Chief Investment Officer at wealth management firm Robertson Stephens, said: “If you look back over the past few decades, and identify major geopolitical events, the average drawdown from peak to trough for the market might be in the range of 5% to 10%. But in the 12 months after these trigger events occur, the market is usually in an upward range.”

Anshul Sharma, Chief Investment Officer at Savvy Wealth, said: “Based on historical experience, geopolitical shocks cause intense short-term market volatility, but they rarely have a material impact on the long-term earnings trajectory.” In other words, with hindsight, periods of geopolitical uncertainty are often a buying opportunity, because the reasons for share price declines are unrelated to the company’s long-term growth prospects.

Iran Warns

On March 10, according to Xinhua News Agency, Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on the 9th that as long as the United States and Israel continue to carry out military strikes against Iran, security in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be restored.

That day, Larijani, on social media, commented on French President Macron’s remarks concerning the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “In the war that has been ignited by the United States and Israel, any security in the Strait of Hormuz is unlikely to be realized,” especially as it is also fueling the escalation of the war in certain respects.

Earlier that day, Macron said France and its allies are prepared to carry out a “defensive” naval operation aimed at restoring normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

An senior Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer said earlier that Iran has “not” closed the Strait of Hormuz, but any vessels belonging to the United States or Israel would become targets of attacks by Iran.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched large-scale military operations against Iran. Iran then launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

According to CCTV News, on the afternoon of March 9, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in succession that it had launched the 31st and 32nd rounds of attacks of “True Promise-4,” using multiple heavy missiles, with less than 2 hours between the two announcements. Based on statistics published by the Israeli forces late on the night of the 9th, Israel recorded 10 incidents of Iranian attacks that day.

According to incomplete statistics, among the contents of Iran’s strikes against the U.S. and Israel updated on the 9th, Iran included: shooting down more than 82 U.S.-Israeli drones and 4 F-15 fighter jets; destroying multiple U.S. radar facilities; shooting down an advanced U.S. cruise missile, the “Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)”; and “destroying” a U.S. Army helicopter base in Kuwait belonging to the U.S. forces, the Udayri helicopter base.