Tokyo stocks end higher as U.S.-Iran talks fuel cautious optimism

Tokyo stocks rose Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index ending at a fresh record high, buoyed by optimism over a settlement in the Middle East conflict.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 1,654.93 points, or 2.68 percent, from Thursday at 63,339.07.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 38.65 points, or 1.00 percent, higher at 3,892.46.

"There was some optimistic trade around the latest U.S.-Iran talks, but this optimism seems to be based on the fact that things aren't getting drastically worse in the region rather than the situation improving significantly," Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), recapped the day's developments.

"This optimism was most strongly on display, I think, in Tokyo today, where the Nikkei rose 2.7 percent with hopes for some relief on oil prices and other currently scarce materials. It's not just oil that is not getting out of the region. As we know, it's other petrochemicals and things like helium as well. The general performance was pretty strong. Metals producers were doing fairly well in Tokyo, but in Japan as well, the market is very much focused on AI stocks. And today, the gains were strong for SoftBank -- it was up almost 12 percent after a bit of a battering earlier in the week. And that SoftBank gain contributed nearly a third to the Nikkei's overall gains on Friday," said Pope.

Tokyo stocks end higher as U.S.-Iran talks fuel cautious optimism

The hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship, MV Hondius, has now reached 12 confirmed cases, with three reported deaths, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.

Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, Tedros said the Netherlands had confirmed an additional case involving a crew member who disembarked in Tenerife, Spain, was repatriated to the Netherlands and has been isolating since then.

No deaths have been reported since May 2, when the outbreak was first reported to WHO, said Tedros.

He urged the affected countries to continue carefully monitoring all passengers and crew members for the remainder of the quarantine period.

More than 600 contacts continue to be followed in 30 countries, and a small number of high-risk contacts are still being located, according to the WHO chief.

He also thanked the countries cooperating in the international response and epidemiological investigation.

The cruise, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, departed from Argentina on April 1, carrying around 150 passengers and crew members from more than 20 countries.

The ship arrived at the Dutch port city of Rotterdam on Monday for disinfection, ending a voyage that had drawn the attention of international health authorities over hantavirus infections on board.

Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship rise to 12 after crew member tests positive: WHO