Israel-Iran ceasefire lifts global markets

Global shares were on track for a second straight day of gains on Tuesday with oil prices plummeting further as market sentiment was lifted by the easing of West Asia tensions, after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.

- AGENCIES

US President Donald Trump had announced on Monday that Israel and Iran had reached a ceasefire to end their 12-day-old war. But both sides accused each other of violating the truce on Tuesday, sparking an extraordinary outburst from Trump.

On Wall Street, the three main indices were trading higher, with the biggest gains in financials, technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary stocks. Energy shares were the main drag.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 per cent to 38,790.56 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 2.1 per cent to 24,177.07.

The Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.2 per cent to 3,420.57.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 3 per cent to 3,103.64, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1 per cent to 8,555.50.

Taiwan's Taiex rose 2.1 per cent and in Bangkok, the SET surged 2.5 per cent.