Tokyo stocks and the yen rallied on Wednesday following a two-week ceasefire announced by the United States and Iran.?

The Nikkei 225 stock average traded up more than 4% minutes after the open, and climbed back to the 55,000 level for the first time in three weeks. It finished the day at 56,308.42, up 5.39%, and gained 2,878.86 points, the third-largest point gain ever.

The yen strengthened decisively to around ?158.7 to the dollar in the morning but fell against the euro. It was trading at about ?158.1 to the dollar in the afternoon. Japanese government bonds also strengthened.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday in Washington that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before the deadline he gave Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its civilian infrastructure.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped from $116 per barrel to below $95 per barrel following the announcement. It is still up 39% from before the conflict.?

¡°Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,¡± Trump wrote on Truth Social.?

In a statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that safe passage through the strait will be possible for two weeks via ¡°coordination with Iran¡¯s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.¡±?

Some investors and analysts doubt whether shipping through the choke point will truly return to normal, as it is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that effectively controls the passage of the strait.?

In a separate statement reported by PBS News, Iran¡¯s Supreme National Security Council emphasized that the ceasefire ¡°does not signify the termination of the war.¡±

¡°Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.¡°?

¡°Unless the situation beyond the two-week period becomes clearer, it would still be difficult on safety grounds to send new vessels into the Gulf via the strait to import crude and other goods,¡± Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, wrote in a Wednesday report.?