Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 890.37 points (+1.36%) at 66,216.79 on Aug 20 (Thursday). South Korea's KOSPI closed up 381.41 points (+5.89%) at 6,852.58.

China International Capital Co said external narratives driving the market remain short-term and stage-specific, and the A-share recovery that began in late July is likely to continue. Market volatility has risen from external shocks; dividend-yielding stocks outperformed on the 19th. As risk appetite gradually recovers and the earnings peak approaches, focus on areas and companies with higher earnings certainty. Two main themes: 1) Selective growth exposure in technology: post-correction crowding in tech has eased. High-growth subsectors where revenue-side expansion can offset denominator pressure—AI infrastructure-related links such as optical communications and PCB—retain strong near-term visibility; semiconductor and compute names require careful alignment of fundamentals and valuations, and tech growth may increasingly diverge. Innovation-stage drugmakers entering clinical-data validation merit bottom-up selection. 2) Cyclical recovery: an expanding set of sectors are rebounding from cycle troughs; factor in geopolitics and capacity-cycle positions and favour areas with improving earnings and tighter supply-demand, including power-grid equipment, petrochemicals/chemicals, construction machinery, and non-bank financials that benefit from stronger capital markets. Nonferrous metals, after heavy adjustment, also deserve attention. Pure domestic-demand sectors show slower recovery and require further observation.

U.S. President Trump said on Aug. 19 local time that talks with Iran may occur at some point. On Aug. 18 he posted on social media that there would be no talks or dialogue with Iran now or in the future. Trump had earlier insisted the U.S. was negotiating with Iran, a claim Iranian officials have repeatedly denied.