Asian equities made a significant recovery on Thursday, following gains on Wall Street, despite analysts warning that the rebound may remain fragile.
The KOSPI in South Korea surged 11.2%, while Japan's Nikkei rose 2.5% and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 3.9%. The recovery was driven by a tentative increase in risk appetite, which has been rattled by the expanding war in the Middle East.
Energy markets continued to react strongly to the conflict, with US crude rising 3.94% to $77.60 per barrel and Brent crude climbing 3.5% to $84.25. Oil prices have gained roughly 16% since the start of the conflict, driven by concerns about potential supply disruptions.
Bitcoin remained supported by institutional demand, trading near $72,500 on Thursday, as US-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded another $155 million in net inflows on Wednesday. The total allocations to the funds have reached roughly $1.47 billion over the past two weeks.