Global stock markets advanced on Friday following remarks from former U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting a potential deal to end the conflict with Iran might be close. This coincided with market anticipation for the high-profile listing of Elon Musk's SpaceX.

After the U.S. President called off plans for new strikes against Iran late Thursday, the European Stoxx 600 index climbed 1.2% in early trading.

Trump stated that the final details of a deal with Tehran had been approved by "everyone," leading to a drop in oil prices. This was seen as the clearest signal yet that a preliminary agreement, which would extend a fragile ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, was imminent.

Brent crude fell 1.9% to $88.70 a barrel, hitting its lowest level in nearly a month.

Technology-heavy markets in Asia saw even stronger gains, continuing a rebound led by tech stocks on Wall Street on Thursday.

The South Korean Kospi index, which has been highly volatile this year, surged 4.6%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.8%.

The rally in Asian markets, which are home to many chipmakers, was primarily driven by bets that these companies will be central to building artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Shares of memory chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix soared, now accounting for more than half of the Kospi's total market capitalization. Kioxia, Japan's largest flash memory maker, saw its shares skyrocket over 3700% in the past 12 months, and on Friday its market value surpassed that of Toyota to become Japan's most valuable company.

Year-to-date, the Kospi has nearly doubled, making it the world's best-performing major stock market for a second consecutive year. The Nikkei 225 and Taiwan Weighted Index have gained 27.4% and 50.5%, respectively, over the same period.

These market moves occurred ahead of the official Friday listing of SpaceX, Elon Musk's company spanning the AI and aerospace sectors. This followed a week of market turbulence and a historic wave of stock offerings on Wall Street.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 2.5% on Thursday, while the S&P 500 gained 1.8%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks U.S. chip-related companies, jumped 7.9%.

While the AI boom has propelled Japanese and South Korean markets, uncertainty over energy supplies stemming from the Iran situation has also impacted these markets. Both Asian economies are heavily reliant on imports for their oil and gas supplies.

Lee Nam-hee, Chairman of the Korea Institute for Corporate Governance, noted that the prospect of a ceasefire agreement was boosting market sentiment.

The Kospi has experienced particularly sharp volatility recently, with daily swings exceeding 7% on three of the past five trading days. So far this year, the index has triggered trading curbs 24 times. For comparison, during the worst of the 2008 global financial crisis, the full-year total was 26 such halts.

Lee stated, "In my 40 years in the financial industry, I have never seen a market fluctuate this wildly. Money is increasingly concentrating in chip stocks, and the range of stocks being actively traded continues to narrow."