European markets opened higher on Friday, buoyed by cautious optimism over potential progress in US-Iran negotiations. The DAX rose 0.64%, led by Deutsche Post AG, while the CAC 40 added 0.65%, boosted by STMicroelectronics. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.38%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.88%. Germany reported expected first-quarter growth of 0.4% year on year, with consumer confidence improving for June.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.7%, helped by data showing Japanese inflation fell to a four-year low of 1.4% in April. Taiwan's Taiex closed 2.2% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% and the Shanghai Composite rose by the same margin. The moves followed a positive session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 added 0.2% to 7,445, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 50,285, and the Nasdaq edged up 0.1% to 26,293.
Oil prices remained elevated as the Strait of Hormuz disruption continued. Brent crude climbed 2.3% to $104.97 a barrel, up sharply from around $70 before the conflict began. US benchmark crude rose 1.8% to $98.10. The US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.57%, easing from above 4.67% earlier in the week.
In corporate news, Hong Kong-listed Lenovo Group surged more than 20% after fourth-quarter revenue hit $21.6 billion, a 27% rise year on year, driven by its PC and smart devices unit.