Asia stocks cautiously higher amid conflicting signals on Iran de-escalation in Stock News 24/03/2026 Most Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, but traded well below intraday highs as investors parsed conflicting signals on de-escalation in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. Regional markets initially took a positive lead-in from Wall Street, which surged on Monday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. held “positive” talks with Iran on ending the conflict. But S&P 500 Futures fell 0.7% in Asian trade after Iran largely denied that talks with Washington had taken place. Attacks between Iran, Israel, and surrounding Middle Eastern countries continued into the early hours of Tuesday, while oil prices rebounded as the conflict entered its fourth consecutive week. Japanese shares rise after soft CPI, PMI prints Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes rose 0.7% and 1.1%, respectively, after curbing a bulk of their earlier gains. Government data showed Japanese consumer price index inflation grew at its slowest pace in nearly four years in February, while core inflation fell below the Bank of Japan’s 2% annual target. The CPI drop was largely driven by government subsidies on energy and food prices, with underlying Japanese inflation remaining strong. Capital Economics analysts said the February print did little to shift the needle on interest rate hike expectations for the BOJ, especially with said government subsidies set to expire in April. The brokerage expects the BOJ to raise interest rates next month. Separate purchasing managers index data showed Japanese manufacturing activity grew at a slower-than-expected pace in early-March, while services growth also cooled. Asia stocks grapple with conflicting Iran signals Broader Asian stocks rose on Tuesday but curbed much of their initial gains amid conflicting signals on the Iran conflict. Regional markets were also nursing deep losses in recent weeks as markets fretted over the economic ramifications of the conflict. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.3% after rising as much as 4.5%. The index had briefly slipped into negative territory earlier in the day, and was nursing a 6.5% loss from the prior session. Investors were wary of a more hawkish Bank of Korea under new Governor Shin Hyun-song. China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes added 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4%. All three had also briefly traded negative earlier in the day. Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.5%, while Singapore’s Straits Times was flat. Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index fell 1.4%. Senior Iranian officials largely denied Trump’s claims that talks over a potential de-escalation had taken place. But Reuters reported that while direct talks had not taken place, some Asian and Gulf countries were seen relaying messages between Tehran and Washington. Trump also postponed a threatened strike on Iran’s key electricity infrastructure. Asian markets have broadly tumbled since the onset of the conflict, given that several major economies in the region are highly dependent on oil and gas imports. Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz effectively cuts off about 20% of the world’s oil consumption. Markets were also wary of the inflationary impact of the war, especially after several major central banks signaled last week that interest rates could rise due to energy-driven inflation. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-24 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { f