Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index opened 119.60 points higher, or 1.43%, at 8485.50 on Tuesday, March 24.

1. Trump claims good progress in US-Iran talks, postpones military strikes against Iran for five days —Trump tweeted: "The US and Iran have had very good and productive talks over the past two days on a complete solution to the Middle East problem. The talks will continue this week. The Department of Defense has been instructed to postpone all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, depending on the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions." 2. Emphasizes agreement with Iran could be reached within 5 days —According to US media reports, after Iran denied contact with the US, Trump stated that he was unaware of what Iranian media were saying. The most recent Iran talks took place last night, and Iran is eager to reach an agreement. An agreement with Iran could be reached within 5 days, or even sooner. 3. Claims 15 points of agreement reached with Iran, Iranian contact not with the Supreme Leader —Trump: "We have reached 15 points of agreement with Iran. We may speak with the Iranian side by phone and hope to hold a meeting as soon as possible. The person we are talking to is not the Supreme Leader of Iran. We have not received a response from the Supreme Leader of Iran and do not consider the son of former Supreme Leader Khamenei to be the current leader." There is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached. If the US-Iran dialogue breaks down, we will continue our bombing operations. 4. Emphasizing his desire to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons and engaging in uranium enrichment activities —Trump: We do not want Iran to possess nuclear bombs or nuclear weapons. We do not want to see any uranium enrichment activities, and we also want the uranium that is already enriched. Iran has agreed not to develop nuclear weapons. If we reach an agreement, it would be very easy for us to take over and remove the enriched uranium ourselves. 5. Claiming that if the Strait of Hormuz reopens, it will be jointly controlled by multiple parties —Trump: If the plan works, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen soon. The Strait of Hormuz will be jointly controlled by multiple parties. The strait may be jointly controlled by me and Ayatollah. Once an agreement is reached, oil prices will plummet. 6. Saying he is consulting with Iran on reaching a broader agreement and hopes Iran will seize the opportunity —Trump stated that Iran wants to end the war and that he is consulting with Iran to determine whether a broader agreement can be reached. He added, "Iran now has another opportunity to end its threat to the United States and its allies, and we hope Iran seizes this opportunity." Trump added that discussions with Iran began last Saturday. 7. Reportedly considering assessing the possibility of supporting Iranian Parliament Speaker —According to US media reports, the Trump administration is secretly assessing the possibility of Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf as a potential partner, or even a future leader of Iran. This marks a shift in Trump's strategy from military pressure to ending the war through negotiations. 8. Says he doesn't want ICE agents to wear masks at airports —Trump: I don't want Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to wear masks at airports. But I strongly support ICE agents wearing masks when searching for and dealing with hardened criminals, many of whom were brought into our country by "Sleepy Biden" and his great "Border Tsar" Harris through their extremely crazy open border policies. 9. Secret Talks Before US-Israeli Operation; Israel Advocates Assassination of Khamenei —Sources say that 48 hours before the joint US-Israeli strike against Iran, Netanyahu spoke with Trump, strongly advocating for a joint assassination of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Netanyahu stated that this might be the best opportunity to assassinate Khamenei and avenge Iran's assassination of Trump. 10. Israeli Prime Minister: Trump Believes Military Gains Can Drive Agreement —Netanyahu stated that he spoke with Trump earlier that day. Netanyahu said that Trump believes there is an opportunity to use the military gains made in the war to achieve all war objectives through an agreement. 11. Iranian Official: Messages Communicated Between Iran and the US Through Egypt and Turkey —A senior Iranian official stated that Trump has no right to set conditions or deadlines for negotiations. The official said that messages have been communicated between Iran and the US through Egypt and Turkey to ease tensions, but the US has not yet accepted Iran's two core conditions: compensation for damages and acknowledgment of its aggression against Iran. 12. Thousands of Marines to Arrive in the Middle East on Trump's Deadline —According to the Wall Street Journal, two U.S. officials said thousands of U.S. Marines are expected to arrive in the Middle East on Friday. Trump had previously set that day as the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 13. 6 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Futures Contracts Sold Off 15 Minutes Before Trump's Post —According to data from the Intercontinental Exchange, at least 6 million barrels of Brent and WTI crude oil futures contracts were sold off approximately 15 minutes before Trump's post about Iran caused crude oil prices to plummet by as much as 14%, compared to an average volume of about 700 lots (700,000 barrels) for the same period over the past five trading days. 14. Pakistan Reportedly Actively Mediates U.S.-Iran Talks; Army Marshal Speaks with Trump —According to sources, Pakistan is actively working to push for mediation talks to end the U.S. and Israel military action against Iran. Pakistani Army Marshal Asim Munir spoke with Trump on Monday to seek a solution to the conflict.

Japanese government bonds rose, with the yield on 20-year Japanese government bonds falling 2.5 basis points to 3.140% and the yield on 30-year Japanese government bonds falling 1.0 basis point to 3.550%.