Asian markets largely advanced on June 17, 2026, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbing 1.8% to over 71,000 and the broader Topix Index gaining 1.6% to 4,078, both reaching fresh record highs. This surge followed President Donald Trump's signing of an interim agreement to end the conflict with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about Japan's energy imports from the Middle East. Financial stocks led the rally, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group up 2.8%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gaining 3.7%, and Mizuho Financial Group advancing 2.7%. Technology shares also moved higher, including Kioxia Holdings (3%), Tokyo Electron (3.5%), and SoftBank Group (4.5%). These gains occurred despite an overnight selloff on Wall Street and signals from the US Federal Reserve indicating a potential rate hike later in the year.
South Korea's Kospi also saw robust activity on June 18, reaching a fresh intraday record and nearing the 9,000 mark. The benchmark Kospi was up 0.76% at 8,931.30, and earlier hit a new intraday high of 8,975.52. This was largely driven by retail investors, who made net purchases of 1.0466 trillion won (approximately $757 million), while foreigners and institutions were net sellers. Semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix advanced, with Samsung up 2,500 won (0.72%) to 349,000 won, and SK Hynix jumping 90,000 won (3.57%) to 2.611 million won. The tech-heavy Kosdaq, however, fell 1.37% to 1,017.81, and the won-dollar exchange rate weakened, jumping 11.6 won to 1,525.0 won.
The Federal Reserve's first FOMC meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh kept benchmark interest rates unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%, but the "dot plot" indicated that rates could rise later in the year. Nine of 18 officials projected the policy rate to be above the current range by year-end, with the median projection rising to 3.8% from 3.4% in March. This hawkish outlook contrasted with earlier expectations and kept investors cautious. The US-Iran peace deal also influenced markets, with oil prices initially dipping more than 5% due to optimism about the Strait of Hormuz reopening, though analysts warned of continued sensitivity to developments in the peace negotiations.
Chinese markets also rose, similarly buoyed by strength in semiconductor stocks, while Hong Kong stocks declined due to profit-taking. The Hang Seng Index closed down 0.74% at 24,312.16. Concerns were also noted regarding potential large-scale selling pressure from IPO lock-up expirations in Hong Kong, with an estimated 255 billion Hong Kong dollars worth of stock lock-ups expected to expire next month. The appreciation of the yuan against the dollar was observed, with the dollar-yuan reference rate set at 6.8096 yuan, down 0.0012 yuan (0.02%).
