Expectations of a ceasefire in the Middle East rise, European and American stock markets surge collectively, Japanese and Korean stock markets open slightly higher, tech stocks strengthen, gold prices rise, and oil prices fluctuate lower.

(Source: Bay Area Financial Media)

Last night, major European and American stock markets all closed higher. Germany and France’s stock markets rose over 2%; the three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher, with the Nasdaq up 1.16%, most tech stocks and chip stocks gaining, U.S. aluminum giants’ stock prices continuing to soar, and popular Chinese concept stocks showing mixed gains and losses. Gold prices rose for the fourth consecutive trading day, while international crude oil prices remained under pressure. The market is highly focused on President Trump’s speech scheduled for April 2 Beijing time.

Most large tech stocks moved higher, with Intel surging 8.8%, the company agreeing to buy back $14.2 billion worth of its Irish chip factory interests from Apollo Global Management, regaining full control of one of its key manufacturing assets. Google rose over 3%, Tesla increased more than 2%, Facebook and Amazon rose over 1%.

Most chip stocks gained, with SanDisk up over 9%, Micron Technology up over 8%, Marvell Technology up over 7%, AMD and ASML rising about 3%.

Boosted by the continuous rise in international aluminum futures prices, U.S. aluminum giants’ stocks surged, with U.S. Aluminum and Century Aluminum rising over 8.2%. According to Cailian Press, the largest aluminum producer in the Middle East, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and its smelter at Taweelah were forced to halt operations last weekend after being hit by Iranian missiles and drones, due to “out-of-control shutdowns” of smelting equipment.

Banking and airline stocks rose collectively, with Boeing up over 4%, United Airlines up over 3%; Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America rose over 1%.

Nike’s stock plummeted 16%, marking its largest single-day decline since June 2024.

Chinese concept stocks showed mixed performance, with chemical stocks Dexin soaring over 47%, China National Chemical Industry Science and Technology rising over 12%, Zai Lab up over 8%, Hesai Technology up more than 7%, and Xunlei up over 6%; on the downside, Jiayin Technology fell over 5%, Vipshop dropped over 4%, JD.com and Pony.ai declined over 2%, Alibaba and Tencent Music fell over 1%.

In commodities, spot silver prices fell by 1% intraday, while spot gold surged sharply, currently up 0.3%. Gold prices have now risen for four consecutive trading days, with a total increase of 8.64%, surpassing $378.

Expectations of a ceasefire in the Middle East are rising, putting pressure on international oil prices. WTI crude oil futures fell 1.2%, dropping about 4.8% at one point during the session; Brent crude fell 3.7%.

Korean and Japanese stock markets opened higher, with the Nikkei 225 index up 0.89%.

On April 2, the Japanese and Korean stock markets opened higher. The Nikkei 225 index opened up 0.61%, at 54,066.83 points; South Korea’s KOSPI index opened up 1.3%, at 5,551.69 points.

As of the time of writing, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.89%, and the KOSPI increased 1.14%.

According to Xinhua News Agency, President Trump will deliver a nationwide speech at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on April 1 (9 a.m. Beijing time on April 2), providing “important updates” on Iran.

According to CCTV News, Iranian sources stated that Iran demands that any ceasefire negotiations with the U.S. must be premised on ensuring the permanent end of the war. U.S. officials revealed that several U.S. intelligence agencies recently assessed that the Iranian government currently has no intention of engaging in substantive negotiations aimed at ending the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Xinhua reports that President Trump on April 1 said the U.S. will “end military actions against Iran quite soon,” but may continue attacks via “targeted strikes” if necessary. Trump also said on social media that Iran “just requested a ceasefire from the United States,” but the U.S. will only consider it if the Strait of Hormuz is open.

According to Xinhua, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated on April 1 that President Trump’s claim that Iran requested a ceasefire is “false and baseless.”

Massive information, precise analysis, all on Sina Finance APP