Boosted by overnight gains in U.S. stocks, markets in Japan and South Korea both rose. On the first trading day after the Lunar New Year holiday, South Korean stocks reached a new peak.

On February 19, Japanese equities continued their upward trend from the previous day, with the Nikkei 225 index rising 0.8% by midday.

After a three-day market closure earlier this week, South Korea's benchmark index surged nearly 3% at the opening, setting a fresh record. Several South Korean securities firms saw significant gains, with SK Securities climbing close to 30%.

Media reports indicated that during trading hours, the Korea Exchange activated a sidecar mechanism to halt program trading in the KOSDAQ market. Due to rising prices in KOSDAQ 150 futures and the KOSDAQ 150 index, program trading orders were temporarily suspended for five minutes.

In international precious metals, gold and silver remained volatile after a strong rally the previous night. As of the latest update, spot gold and silver had rebounded and turned positive.

On the news front, according to a CCTV report, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated at a routine press conference on the afternoon of February 18 (local time) that indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran had "made some progress," but "significant differences remain on key issues." Jean-Pierre mentioned that Iran is "expected to provide more details to the U.S. in the coming weeks," and President Joe Biden "will continue to monitor the situation" while communicating with the National Security Council and other stakeholders.

When asked whether President Biden had set a deadline for military action against Iran, Jean-Pierre declined to comment, stating she was not authorized to address such questions.

Jean-Pierre emphasized that "it would be a wise decision for Iran to reach an agreement with the U.S. government."

Some information in this report was compiled from sources including CCTV News.