Morning brief: Asia mixed, oil jitters surge, Sun Pharma’s big bet

Global markets started the week with a mixed bag as equities in the region are being lifted by Wall Street’s momentum, while oil remains sensitive to every fresh twist in the US-Iran standoff.

China’s latest profit data suggests some industrial improvement, but the broader recovery still looks uneven.

In India, Sun Pharma is making a giant outbound bet on Organon.

Together, the day’s headlines point to a market obsessed with growth, energy security, and cross-border deal-making.

Asia mixed, led by Japan

Asian markets opened the week mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 standing out after setting a fresh record high at 60,564.18, up 1.4%.

South Korea’s Kospi and Taiwan’s Taiex also advanced, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, Shanghai, and Australia’s ASX 200 were softer.

The tone was broadly risk-on, helped by Wall Street’s strong finish and continued appetite for technology shares.

The pattern suggests regional traders are still willing to buy dips, but they are not ignoring the oil shock and Iran-related uncertainty that continue to hang over sentiment.

Oil stays on edge

Oil prices remained elevated as stalled US-Iran peace talks and tighter traffic through the Strait of Hormuz kept supply fears in focus.

Brent crude climbed to $107.49 a barrel, while US WTI rose to $96.17, with both benchmarks extending a run of sharp weekly gains.

The tanker activity has stayed thin, with Tehran restricting the strait and Washington maintaining a blockade on Iranian ports.

Goldman Sachs also raised its year-end price forecasts, warning that the economic risks from the disruption may be greater than the market’s base case suggests.

Sun Pharma’s giant bet

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has agreed to buy Organon & Co. in an all-cash transaction valued at $11.8 billion (approx. Rs 3.3 trillion) in enterprise value, with Organon shareholders set to receive $14 per share.

Organon said the deal gives Sun Pharma access to a portfolio of more than 70 products sold across roughly 140 countries, strengthening its women’s health and general medicine businesses.

The move is seen as one of India’s biggest outbound acquisitions, and the scale alone makes it a major signal for Indian pharma’s global ambitions.

The deal also reflects strategic timing: Sun Pharma is buying into scale, geography, and product breadth at a moment when overseas expansion matters more than ever.

China profits improve

China’s industrial firms reported faster profit growth in March, with profits up 15.8% year on year, after a 15.2% rise in January-February.

For the first quarter, industrial profits rose 15.5%, helped by a broader economic rebound that kept growth near 5%.

But the recovery is uneven: AI-linked manufacturers have been strong, while consumer names remain under pressure from weak domestic demand.

Rising energy costs from the Iran war could further squeeze margins, especially if companies cannot pass on higher input prices.

The data is encouraging, but it does not yet erase the risks from softer exports, cooler industrial output, and a still-fragile demand backdrop.