Global markets climb on ceasefire news, Bitcoin up

MUMBAI: Global markets were on a tear on Wednesday after the US and Iran agreed to temporarily cease armed conflicts in the Persian Gulf region with Iran agreeing to open the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping channels crucial for the export of crude oil and natural gas from the region to around the world.

Japan-that meets most of its fossil fuel energy needs from imports for the Persian Gulf region-saw its Nikkei index close 5.4% up while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 3.1%. In mainland China the Shanghai Composite index closed 2.7% up while in Pakistan, the KSE 100 index on the Karachi Stock Exchange surged more than 8% or 14,000 points in intra-day trades, its biggest single-day points gain in history.

In Europe, FTSE in the UK closed 2.5% up while in Germany the Dax index closed 5.1% higher. Across the Atlantic, in mid-session, the Dow Jones index on Wall Street was up 2.6%, the S& was higher by 2.4% while the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.9%. And in South America, iBovespa in Brazil was trading 2.3% higher.

The feel-good rally was fuelled by expectations that the biggest energy crisis in history would probably be over soon and slowly the supply chains for crude and natural gas would be restored to the pre-war status.

As a result, Brent crude prices had crashed over 13% in late trades Wednesday while WTI crude was down over 16% and natural gas nearly 6%.

The day's session also saw Bitcoin jump nearly 5% to near the $72K mark by mid-session trades in the US on the back of news that ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz would need to pay Iran in cryptocurrencies.

In GIFT city's international exchange run by NSE, the GIFT Nifty, however, was down marginally at 23,970 points in the closing session of the day after news came in that Iran had blocked passage of ships through the Strait after Israel violated the ceasefire.