Japan's Nikkei jumps 5% as Trump signals timeline to end Iran war

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, April 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose 5% on Wednesday, supported by hopes of 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 5.24% to 53,739.68, starting April on a strong note, after logging its worst month since the 2008 global financial crisis in March. The broader Topix .TOPX gained 4.95% to 3,670.9.

"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 and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Iran war could be nearing an end, signalling that Washington was open to direct talks with Tehran's leadership and could wind down the conflict even without a deal.

In Japan, chip and artificial intelligence-related shares led the rise, with Advantest 6857.T and SoftBank Group 9984.T jumping 10.67% and 5.88%, respectively. Tokyo Electron 8035.T rose 5.51%.

Memory chip maker Kioxia 285A.T soared 14.26% to be the top percentage gainer on Nikkei following its addition to the index in a regular reshuffle.

Of Nikkei's 225 components, 221 rose.

All the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes advanced.

The banking sector .IBNKS.T jumped 8.21%. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T rose 8% and 8.97%, respectively, leading the Topix higher.

Meanwhile, KDDI 9433.T fell 3.32% after the phone company said it had set up an investigation committee over inappropriate transactions by employees at its subsidiary BIGLOBE.