CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as tumbling crude oil prices after US attempts to unblock Strait of Hormuz traffic boosted market sentiments and eased supply concerns. Risk sentiment also improved amid signs of de-escalation in the Middle East conflict. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.
Optimism grew that a deal with Tehran could be within reach, after the US declared an end to offensive operations against Iran, reaffirmed the ceasefire, and temporarily paused efforts to help stranded vessels exit the Strait of Hormuz.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 'Operation Epic Fury is concluded,' noting that its objectives had been met.
Australian shares are trading sharply higher on Wednesday, reversing the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,750 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in mining and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 101.70 points or 1.17 percent to 8,782.20, after touching a high of 8,787.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 100.60 points or 1.13 percent to 9,003.20. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.4 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is down more than 2 percent and Santos is edging down 0.2 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent. Xero and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Appen is gaining almost 4 percent and Zip is adding more than 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is advancing almost 3 percent, ANZ Banking is gaining more than 3 percent, National Australia bank is adding almost 4 percent and Westpac is surging almost 5 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are losing almost 1 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is declining more than 2 percent. Resolute Mining is adding almost 1 percent and Newmont is edging up 0.5 percent.
In other news, shares in David Di-Pilla backed DigiCo are soaring more than 22 percent after the data centre developer announced the sale of its Chicago site for $1 billion as the company looks to off-load its North American locations in favour of expanding its flagship Sydney data centre.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.722 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is closed for Constitution Day holiday on Wednesday. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Friday ahead of the holidays on Monday and Tuesday.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is surging 5.7 percent, while New Zealand, China Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.3 and 1.1 percent each. Singapore is relatively flat.
On the Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Tuesday after coming under pressure over the course of the previous session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset yesterday's losses, reaching new record closing highs.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the end of the day but remained firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 258.32 points or 1 percent to 25,326.13, the S&P 500 advanced 58.47 points or 0.8 percent to 7,259.22 and the Dow climbed 356.35 points or 0.7 percent to 49,298.25.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index shot up by 1.7 percent.
Crude oil prices plummeted on Tuesday after U.S. attempts to unblock Strait of Hormuz traffic boosted market sentiments and eased supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $3.80 or 3.57 percent at $102.62 per barrel.
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