Access all our platforms from a single account.
Asia Market Quick Take – 15 April, 2026
Key points:
- Macro: US – Iran prepares for 2nd round of talks while Tehran pauses shipments
- Equities: Nasdaq 100 rises 1.8% for tenth straight day of gains on US-Iran talks
- FX: USD slumps seven days; CNH rallies eight days amid persistent weakness
- Commodities: WTI fell nearly 7%; copper hit its highest in over a month
- Fixed income: German front-end yields >10 bps lower as ECB hike bets eased
------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Past performance does not indicate future performance.
Macro:
- The US and Iran are preparing for a second round of peace talks in the coming days, with Tehran reportedly considering a pause in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to smooth negotiations.
- Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said the energy price surge from the Iran war may push back interest rate cuts.
- ECB President Christine Lagarde said higher energy costs have pushed the euro zone away from the central bank's baseline outlook, though not enough to warrant raising interest rates.
- BoJ officials are likely to consider raising their inflation forecast sharply at this month's policy meeting.
- US producer prices rose 0.5% m/m in March 2026, below the 1.1% forecast. Goods prices jumped 1.6% on an 8.5% energy surge tied to the Iran conflict, while food fell 0.3% and services were flat. PPI climbed 4% y/y, and core PPI (excluding food, energy, trade) rose 0.2% m/m and 3.6% y/y.
- The IMF cut its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.1% from 3.3%, citing fallout from the Middle East conflict, but kept 2027 at 3.2%. It says the Iran-related energy shock rivals 1974’s in scale but notes greater resilience. It now projects 2026–27 growth of 2.3% and 2.1% for the US, 4.4% and 4.0% for China, 1.1% and 1.2% for the Euro Area, 0.8% and 1.3% for the UK, and 0.7% and 0.6% for Japan, with global inflation edging up in 2026 before easing in 2027.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US economy remains strong and expects growth could exceed 3% to 3.5% this year despite the Iran war.
Equities:
- US: The S&P 500 rallied 1.2% to 6,967.38, nearing a fresh record high as optimism over possible US-Iran peace talks pushed oil prices lower. The Nasdaq 100 gained 1.8%, marking its tenth straight day of gains, the longest winning streak since 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7%. Western Digital and Seagate hit record highs. Tesla rose 2.1% in premarket trading after UBS upgraded the stock to neutral from sell. Meta and Broadcom shares climbed in extended trading following news of an expanded multi-year partnership to co-develop the industry's first 2nm AI compute accelerator. Citigroup shares rallied after the bank reported a big first-quarter earnings beat, boosted by record M&A fees. Nike shares jumped 2% in after-hours trading after CEO Elliott Hill and Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed they had bought nearly 50,000 shares between them.
- EU: The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1% to 619.95, advancing to the highest closing level since March 2. ASML contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.9%, while Intertek Group had the largest increase, rising 12.8%. The DAX rose 1.3% to 24,044.22 in Frankfurt, with Deutsche Bank posting the largest increase at 3.8%. The CAC 40 Index gained 1.12% to 8,327.86, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.25% to 10,609.06 in London. Rolls-Royce contributed the most to the FTSE 100 gain, increasing 3.4%. Energy shares were the biggest laggards across Europe as Brent crude oil fell below $100 per barrel.
- Asia: Asian equities rose broadly, led by artificial intelligence names, as sentiment improved amid signs the US and Iran may revive peace talks. South Korea's Kospi led advances across the region, jumping 2.7% to 5,967.75 after briefly topping 6,000 intraday. SK hynix contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.1%. Taiwan's benchmark climbed to a record high, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing among the biggest boosts to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7% to 25,832.85, while the Shanghai Composite index gained modestly. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 2.4% to 57,877.39. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained as much as 1.9%. Singapore's STI was among the regional gainers.
Earnings this week:
- Wednesday: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, CATL
- Thursday: Taiwan Semiconductor, Netflix, Moutai
FX:
- USD extended declines for a seventh day, posting its longest losing streak since March 2024, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropping 0.4%.
- EUR rose as much as 0.4% to 1.1806, the strongest level since February 27, erasing all losses since the Iran war began and opening a path toward $1.20.
- CNH extended gains for an eighth straight day, the longest winning streak in five years, heading toward the 6.8 per dollar level as greenback weakness persisted.
- GBP climbed 0.6% to 1.3585, while the NZD led G-10 currency gains.
- USDJPY fell 0.5% to 158.73, the first drop in four days, despite expectations that the Bank of Japan may delay rate hikes due to geopolitical uncertainty.
Commodities:
- Brent crude fell below $100 per barrel and WTI dropped nearly 7% as optimism grew over fresh signs of progress in US-Iran negotiations, with President Trump saying talks could resume over the next two days.
- Copper rose to the highest level in more than a month as most industrial metals rallied on optimism that the US and Iran will restart peace talks, with supply disruptions beginning to outweigh demand-destruction fears.
- Gold and silver futures saw adjusted trading margins on the Shanghai Futures Exchange as volatility persisted in precious metals markets. Gold held gains on hopes of US–Iran talks easing energy‑shock inflation, with spot up 2% to $4,841.23; silver jumped 5.3% to $79.58, while platinum and palladium also rose.
Fixed income:
- The 10-year Treasury yield fell 4.1 basis points to 4.254%, while the 30-year yield declined 3.1 basis points to 4.869%, the lowest level since March 19.
- Bunds outperformed as Lagarde said the ECB isn’t biased to tighten; German front-end yields fell >10 bps as hike bets eased.
- Australian and New Zealand bonds followed Treasuries higher, with Australia's 10-year yield declining 4 basis points to 4.91% and New Zealand's 10-year yield dropping 5 basis points to 4.62%.
- High-yield bond issuance picked up with six borrowers announcing offerings and three pricing deals totaling over $4 billion as confidence builds that the worst of the Middle East conflict has passed.
For a global look at markets – go to Inspiration.
This content is marketing content and should not be considered investment advice. Trading financial instruments carries risks and historic performance is not a guarantee for future performance.
The instrument(s) mentioned in this content may be issued by a partner, from which Saxo receives promotion, payment or retrocessions. While Saxo receives compensation from these partnerships, all content is conducted with the intention of providing clients with valuable options and information.