Shares of Sakura Internet surged as much as 20.2% Friday after Microsoft said it has begun discussions with the Japanese cloud company and SoftBank to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure in Japan.

Microsoft said it plans to invest $10 billion in Japan between 2026 and 2029 to build AI infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity and train 1 million engineers and developers by 2030.

Sakura Internet, which provides internet infrastructure services using domestic data centers, and Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp. will partner with Microsoft to provide AI computing resources, including graphics processing units located in Japan.

The announcement came during a visit to Japan by Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, who met Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Smith said the investment comes as demand for cloud and AI services grows in Japan. Around one in five working-age people in the country use generative AI tools, compared with the global average of about one in six, according to Microsoft’s AI Diffusion Report.

The partnership will allow data to be processed in Japan and support the development of advanced AI systems such as domestic large language models, Microsoft said in a statement.

SoftBank and Microsoft Japan are also discussing a joint solution that would allow Microsoft Azure customers to use SoftBank’s AI computing platform.

Shares of Softbank Group were up 0.22% in Friday trade, while SoftBank Corp. rose 1.02%

Separately, Microsoft will partner with five other major Japanese IT companies, including NTT Data Corp., NEC, Fujitsu and Hitachi, to train 1 million AI professionals by 2030.

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Friday, after news that Iran and Oman were drafting a protocol to “monitor transit” through the Strait of Hormuz raised hopes that the crucial waterway could partially reopen.

Tanker traffic through the key oil-shipping route “should be supervised and coordinated” with the two countries, said Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister of legal and international affairs, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

Oil prices continued to spike, however, with U.S. crude futures jumping almost 12% to trade at 112.06 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent was up around 8% at $109.24.

The spot price for current physical cargoes of Brent crude oil soared Thursday to $141.36, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, according to S&P Global.

Over in Asia, the Australian and Hong Kong markets were closed for the Easter weekend.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 53,285 and its counterpart in Osaka at 53,250, compared with the previous close of 52,463.27.

U.S. futures were little changed, with S&P 500 futures flat, and the Nasdaq-100 futures down 0.07%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9 points, or 0.02%.

Overnight in the U.S., markets saw a volatile session amid rising oil prices, but the major indexes ended little changed, with the blue-chip Dow declining 61.07 points, or 0.13%.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.11%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.18%.

— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger, Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.

A year ago, on April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared in the White House Rose Garden with an announcement that would become one of the defining policies of his second term.

The president unveiled a vast list of country-specific tariffs in what he dubbed his “liberation day” trade policies — a move that sparked panic and volatility in markets across the globe.

It included steep duties on imports from many trading partners, including 34% on Chinese goods, 20% on the EU and 46% on Vietnam.

The ensuing sell-off gripped various asset classes across the globe — but U.S. equities, Treasurys and the dollar all took a major hit in what would become the “Sell America” trade.

In the 12 months since “liberation day”, U.S. assets have seen further spates of volatility linked to Trump’s unpredictable policy mix — generating a number of trading trends from ABUSA (Anywhere But the USA) to the TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) trade.

Some international markets, including the benchmark indexes of Brazil, the U.K. and Japan, have outperformed the S&P 500 in the year since Trump’s “liberation day” announcements, benefiting from investors — particularly those outside of the U.S. — looking to diversify away from an overreliance on American returns.

Washington has since struck a series of trade deals that reduced the tariff rates slapped on various key trading partners, such as the EU, the U.K., India and Switzerland.

But, in February, the tariff regime was struck down when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it was illegal, with a judge later ordering the government to prepare to potentially pay billions of dollars in refunds to importers who paid the tariffs.

Last month, Trump launched Section 301 investigations into more than a dozen trading partners, including China, the EU, Japan, Switzerland and India, paving the way for the White House to impose import duties on those economies. It came after he imposed a 10% “universal” tariff on imports, which the administration has said will be raised to 15%.

In a note on Monday, Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said investors were continuing to reassess their exposure to the U.S..  

“Tariffs and strong-arm trade tactics, challenges to the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve and now military incursions in Latin America and the Middle East, as well as saber-rattling over Greenland, are combining with lofty American stock market valuations and a soaring Federal deficit and prompting investors to reassess the narrative of American exceptionalism,” he said.

Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs announced last April “took trade policy to a whole new level,” Mould added.

While he noted that neither stock nor bond markets welcomed the policy, Mould pointed out that markets rebounded quickly when Trump walked back parts of his tariff policy.

“However, investors do seem to have thought carefully about where to allocate capital in a post-liberation day world, and…

Hello, this is Dylan Butts writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.

U.S. President Donald Trump gave his highly anticipated national address Wednesday night from the White House., providing some updates on the war, but keeping his comments relatively brief at under half an hour.

As expected, the president claimed massive successes in the U.S. campaign, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, mentioning “victories like few people have ever seen before.”

Though he repeated recent claims that the war won’t last much longer, he put the timeframe at another two to three weeks and warned Iran would be hit “extremely hard“ in the meantime.

Oil has jumped, while Asian stock markets reacted negatively to the speech. Global investors will be watching to see what Wall Street — which has been in a recent recovery — thinks of the comments. 

After Trump’s address, most Asia-Pacific markets reversed Thursday gains with major indices from Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 all in the red.

Meanwhile, oil jumped in volatile trading, with International benchmark Brent crude futures with June delivery rising nearly 6%.

In his speech, Trump attributed the increase in oil prices to the “Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict.” He also repeated requests for allies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, saying the U.S. had already done “the hard part.” And he again talked of bringing Iran “back to the stone ages.”

The market reactions suggest that Trump’s speech has dampened some recent optimism that Washington and Tehran might be nearing a ceasefire. Major American indices had risen on Wall Street on Wednesday for a second consecutive day of recovery. 

U.S. Stock futures were down following Trump’s proclamation of several more weeks of war in the Middle East. 

Additionally, while Trump had claimed that Iran’s President had requested a ceasefire on Wednesday, he said the U.S. will “consider” the offer only once the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear.” 

“Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” he wrote on Truth Social earlier on Wednesday. Tehran denied that it requested a ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported later Wednesday morning, citing an unnamed Iranian official.

In addition to his serious threats towards Iran on Wednesday, Trump also turned some ire to some U.S. allies in Europe in comments to the The Telegraph. 

According to the report, the president is considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO, calling it a “paper tiger.” The comments represent the president’s latest threat to European allies after their reluctance…

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two or three weeks in a national address on Wednesday.

“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” he said. “We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.”

But the first targets to bear the brunt of the president’s “Epic Fury,” Washington’s name for the Iran operation, were Asian stocks, U.S. Treasuries and oil prices.

Shortly after his 19-minute speech, Asian markets reversed earlier gains from Thursday’s session, as benchmarks in Australia, Japan and South Korea fell. South Korea’s Kospi plunged 4.37%, leading losses in the region.

The Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets, which opened their sessions shortly after his speech, started the day in negative territory.

U.S. stock futures were down over 1% for all three major indexes after trading flat earlier in the session.

U.S. Treasury yields climbed after Trump’s speech, signaling a sell-off in the bond market, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year notes climbing 6 basis points to 4.38%.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar index rose 0.37% to 100.02, reversing earlier losses.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.38% to 159.37 against the greenback, while the South Korean won fell 0.6% to 1,521.80. Both currencies had strengthened earlier in the session.

The dollar also strengthened against other major currencies, with the Euro trading at 1.153, while the pound fell 0.57% to 1.32 against the U.S. dollar.

Spot gold prices slipped 1.82% to 4,671,67.

Oil prices saw the largest swings after Trump’s speech, with Brent crude futures jumping 5.37% to $106.59 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 4.51% to $104.64.

Despite Trump’s claim that the U.S. has almost met all its objectives, analysts said his threat to hit Iran “extremely hard” could still send oil prices higher.

“Trump is declaring mission almost accomplished, but highlighting further escalation in the next few weeks, which increases the risk of more extensive damage to regional energy infrastructure both in Iran but throughout the Gulf, ” Rachel Ziemba, founder of Ziemba Insights, told CNBC’s “The China Connection.”

Early Wednesday stateside, Trump claimed that Iran’s “New Regime President” had asked the U.S. for a ceasefire, a claim that Tehran has denied.

Trump added that the U.S. will “consider” the request only once the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear,” he said on Truth Social, fueling expectations that the war could drag on longer.

“Remember — the…

Asia-Pacific markets ticked higher on Thursday, tracking similar moves on Wall Street as investors await an address by Donald Trump later in the day amid hopes that the U.S. president is looking to exit the Iran war.

Early Wednesday stateside, Trump claimed that Iran’s “New Regime President” had asked the U.S. for a ceasefire, a claim that Tehran has denied.

Trump added that the U.S. will “consider” the offer only once the Strait of Hormuz was “open, free, and clear,” he said on Truth Social.

Trump previously said he was willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.78%, while the Topix saw a larger gain of 1.01%.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.33% and the small-cap Kosdaq was up 1.14%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day up 0.45%, on pace for a third straight day of gains.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 25,301, marginally higher than the HSI’s last close of 25,294.03

U.S. stock futures were little changed, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures just above the flatline. Dow futures were up 13 points, or 0.03% higher.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 advanced 0.72%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.16%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.48%.

—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.

Large Japanese manufacturers indicated their highest level of business optimism in over four years, despite uncertainties brought about from the Iran war.

That’s according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey, a closely-watched poll that measures business sentiment among domestic companies.

The index for business optimism among large Japanese manufacturers increased to 17 for the first quarter of 2026, up from 15 in the previous quarter — per the survey results published April 1 — and against the 16 expected by economists polled by Reuters.

A positive figure on the Tankan indicates that optimists outnumber pessimists, and vice versa.

The figure was at its highest since the fourth quarter of 2021, according to LSEG data.

This was helped by “solid profits” offsetting pressures from higher energy costs, according to Carlos Casanova, senior economist for Asia at Swiss private bank UBP in an email to CNBC.

Large non-manufacturers’ business sentiment stood at 36, holding at a multi-decade high as per LSEG data, and same as last quarter’s revised 36. That also defied Reuters poll expectations of 33.

The Nikkei 225 gained 4.48% on Wednesday after the data release, fuelled by hopes that the Iran war could end soon.

In comments to CNBC, Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC, said that the uptick in business sentiment was also due to Japan’s economy seeing accelerating momentum at the start of the year, supported by strong exports in January and February.

However, the positive sentiment may not fully capture the impact from the Iran war, as the survey period ended in March.

“While the survey signals strong momentum going into the conflict, the outlook for activity in the coming months is increasingly murky, with every day and week that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed compounding the challenge of soaring energy costs and supply chain disruptions,” Neumann said.

Neumann highlighted the Tankan was a “somewhat backward looking” survey, discounting the uncertainty of the conflict in the Gulf and its impact on energy costs and supply chains.

This view was also echoed by Norihiro Yamaguchi, lead Japan economist at Oxford Economics. Yamaguchi said that “many responses do not appear to reflect the escalation of Iran conflict fully, given the survey period,” in an email to CNBC.

As such, Yamaguchi said he expects that higher energy prices will dampen corporate sentiments moving forward, by worsening their terms of trade, the ratio of a country’s export to import prices.

The data comes as Japan grapples with the fallout from the Iran war, with the country releasing oil stockpiles and enacting fuel subsidies to stave off the worst of the energy shock from the closed Strait of Hormuz.

Japan is dependent on imports for over 87% of its energy needs, according to data from the International Energy Authority.

Reuters…

Asia-Pacific markets rebounded Wednesday after statements from U.S. President Donald Trump raised hopes that the Iran war could be coming to an end soon.

On Tuesday stateside, Trump said the U.S. could leave Iran in “two or three weeks,” adding “We leave because there’s no reason for us to do this.”

U.S. crude futures were up 0.44% at $101.81 a barrel as of 7.40 p.m. ET.

South Korea’s Kospi led gains in the region, surging almost 5% in early trade, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 4.13%. Stocks rose as South Korean exports in March surged 48.3% year on year compared to Reuters poll estimates of 44.9%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 also saw a 3.51% gain, with the broad based Topix up 3.17%.

The Bank of Japan released its Tankan survey for the first quarter of 2026, which measures business sentiment among large Japanese companies.

Business optimism among large Japanese manufacturers climbed to 17 from 15, beating expectations of 16 from economists polled by Reuters and reaching its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2021.

Large non-manufacturers’ business sentiment stood at 36, holding at a multi-decade high as per LSEG data, and same as last quarter’s revised 36.

That also defied Reuters poll expectations of 33.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 1.76% higher, driven by a rise in educational services stocks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures last traded at 25,191, compared with HSI’s last close of 24,788.14.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes posted their best day since May, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.49%.

The S&P 500 gained 2.91%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.83%.

The moves followed an unconfirmed report that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was open to ending the war with guarantees. 

—CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Sarah Min and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.

Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Tuesday as the conflict in the Middle East keeps investors jittery, with crude oil prices continuing to rise.

U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his threat on Monday, saying that the U.S. would destroy Iran’s electricity-generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island, if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz remains closed and no peace deal is reached to end the war.

His remarks came as the Iran war entered its fifth week and as the Trump administration weighs sending in ground forces to seize Kharg Island, a major fuel hub which facilitates 90% of Iran’s crude exports.

Shipping traffic through the Hormuz waterway, through which a fifth of the global seaborne oil used to transit before the conflict, has virtually ground to a halt since U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

The West Texas Intermediate rose more than 3% to settle just below $103 a barrel on Monday, pushing above the $100 level for the first time since 2022. May futures for the International benchmark Brent crude rose 0.19%, or 21 cents, to close at $112.78 per barrel. WTI was last up 2.8% at 105.8.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 0.12% in early Asia trade.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.84% while broad-based Topix dropped 0.57%.

South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi declined 2.4% and the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.77%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 24,683, compared with the index’s last close of 24,750.8.

Since the pandemic, private equity funds focused on Asia have struggled to raise money, as the industry sat on massive unsold assets and idle dry powder. 

Signs of growing confidence began to emerge late last year as exit values picked up and cash distribution for investors started flowing again, encouraging private equity to resume preparations to launch new funds after a multiyear lull in activity.

But now, that glimmer of optimism is contending with economic disruption from the war in the Middle East. The turmoil sweeping global markets has introduced a new layer of uncertainty, threatening to sap investor appetite that had just begun to recover, according to several industry practitioners. 

“What we are seeing now is not unlike the tariff situation early last year — causing people to pause, slow down, and just wait — to avoid exposure to any sudden shocks,” said Andrew Thompson, head of asset management and private equity for Asia Pacific at KPMG. “It’s just that uncertainty that causes things to slow down a bit,” he said in an interview with CNBC.

Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, Middle Eastern investment funds, a major source of capital for private equity globally, may also be taking a pause with outbound commitments at least for the near term, Thompson said. “Now is just not the time to go there for a fundraising visit. They simply have bigger issues to worry about now.” 

Asia-focused private equity firms saw new funds raised last year falling to the lowest level in over a decade, bagging just $58 billion, according to a Bain & Company report this week. That marked the fourth straight year of the downturn, as aging assets and underperforming funds overshadowed a modest recovery in increased liquidity from the rebounding exit values.  

Asia’s share of global fundraising last year also fell to just 5%, according to Bain. 

Yet 2025 ended with hopes of returning confidence, as net cash flows to fund investors, (the so-called limited partners, or LP), turned positive for the first time since 2021, offering partial relief to the liquidity pressures. 

Dealmaking rebounded last year with Asia-Pacific being the largest region by IPO proceeds and merger-and-acquisition activities surging on easing market conditions. 

The Iran war is in its fourth week, with little clarity on the prospects of a diplomatic off-ramp, prompting investors to scale back rate-cut bets and brace for a potential energy supply shock. 

“A prolonged war and a higher-for-longer rate environment are reintroducing caution,” said Edoardo Grigione, an advisor for alternative investment managers’ capital raising, prompting investors who are increasingly wary of geopolitical risks, to hold back on committing fresh capital to new funds.