Optimism on Asian stock markets after Donald Trump says war in Iran is in its final stages

Major Asian indexes followed Wall Street's lead on Thursday, with South Korea's Kospi up 7.3 percent at noon after Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the war in Iran was "in its final stages."

In Tokyo, the main Nikkei 225 index is up 3.6 percent while the broader Topix climbs 2.2 percent.

In China, the movements are smaller. Shenzhen rises 0.6 percent while Shanghai's index is unchanged. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is also unchanged.