Japan's Nikkei jumps 4% on Trump's talk of timeline to end Middle East war

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, April 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose nearly 4% on Wednesday, supported by hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict after U.S. President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end in two to three weeks.

The Nikkei .N225 climbed 3.87% to 53,039.72 by 0134 GMT, starting April on a strong note after the benchmark logged its worst month since the 2008 global financial crisis in March. The broader Topix .TOPX was up 3.67% at 3,626.33.

"There are still uncertainties over the fate of the war, but at least the market is confident that it is moving towards the end," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"If oil prices stabilise, it would make it easier for local firms to make forecasts for this fiscal year. They are set to start disclosing their outlook from the end of this month."

Trump said the United States could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks and that Tehran did not have to make a deal as a prerequisite for the conflict to wind down.

In Japan, chip and artificial intelligence-related shares led the gains, with Advantest 6857.T and SoftBank Group 9984.T jumping 7.9% and 4.7%, respectively. Tokyo Electron 8035.T rose 4.14%.

Memory chip maker Kioxia 285A.T surged 9.7% to become the top percentage gainer on the Nikkei after its addition to the index following a regular reshuffle.

Of the 225 components of the Nikkei, 217 stocks rose.

Bank shares led the Topix higher. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T jumped 6% and 7%, respectively.

All but one of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes rose. The shipping sector <.ISHIP.T> slipped 0.94%.

Mitsui OSK Lines 9104.T fell 3.9%, becoming the biggest percentage loser on the Nikkei.

KDDI 9433.T fell 3% after the phone company said it established an investigation committee for inappropriate transactions by employees at subsidiary BIGLOBE.