BANGKOK — Stocks rallied Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in the Israel-Iran war, although the situation remained unclear.
Trump said Israel and Iran had agreed to a ''complete and total ceasefire'' soon after Iran launched limited missile attacks Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites over the weekend.
Trump's announcement on Truth Social said the ceasefire would bring an ''Official END'' to the war., though its status remained unclear. Israel stopped its attacks but did not confirm the ceasefire, while Iran confirmed it had started, though it continued attacks.
Still, investors took heart. U.S. futures advanced. The contracts for the S&P 500 gained 0.6% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to 38,837.59 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.8% to 24,114.42.
The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.9% to 3,417.09.
In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2.8% to 3,099.71, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 8,550.30.
Taiwan's Taiex rose 2.1% and India's Sensex was up 1.2%. In Bangkok, the SET surged 2.2%.