Tokyo leads Asia stock surge on growing Mideast peace hopes Tokyo's Nikkei index soared Thursday to lead another strong rally across Asia stocks, fuelled by growing optimism the Iran war is close to ending and the revival of demand for all things AI. Oil prices also held the week's steep losses due to hopes Washington and Tehran will conclude the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the start of March, choking off a fifth of the world's crude.