Asian Stocks Rise as Tensions Over Greenland Ease

By Kosaku Narioka

Asian stocks rose Thursday following gains on Wall Street overnight as tensions over Greenland between the U.S. and Europe eased.

President Trump said that he had reached the "framework of a future deal" on Greenland and called off tariffs on several European nations.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.4%, South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.6% and Australia's S&P/ASX200 was 0.6% higher.

Gold fell as the safe-haven allure of the precious metal diminished. Markets have "breathed a sigh of relief," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst for global macro at Forex.com. Spot gold was 0.7% lower at $4,797.60 a troy ounce.

Semiconductor-related stocks led gains in Asia. Tokyo Electron was 4.3% higher, Kioxia Holdings was up 6.9% and Disco Corp. surged 17%. Samsung Electronics was 3.2% higher and SK Hynix was up 3.0%.

Following recent volatility, the Japanese government bond market has regained some stability ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision on Friday. The Japanese central bank is widely expected to leave its policy rate unchanged. The 10-year yield was down half a basis point at 2.280%.

The yen's persistent weakness and the prospect of further fiscal expansion in Japan could force the BOJ to act sooner on its next rate increase, HSBC economists said in a note.

--Ronnie Harui contributed to this article.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-21-26 2057ET