CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with markets in South Korea and Taiwan leading regional gains, thanks to support from technology stocks and easing crude oil prices. Persistent optimism about an end to the Middle East war and the potential opening of the Strait of Hormuz are aiding market sentiment. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday that negotiations with Iran 'are proceeding nicely!'
An Iranian team is preparing in Qatar for a potential deal with the U.S. despite fresh U.S. military attacks on Iran amid a ceasefire holding in place. A team of high-profile politicians and senior officials from Iran landed in Qatar yesterday to discuss some sensitive issues before reaching a deal with the U.S
Meanwhile, the US military said it carried out self-defense strikes in southern Iran, while Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed it fired at an F-35 fighter jet and multiple drones after they allegedly entered Iranian airspace.
Australian shares are trading modestly higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,650 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in iron ore miners and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in financial stocks.
The markets swung to gains following the release of the latest domestic inflation data that came in softer than expected.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 13.60 points or 0.16 percent to 8,671.40, after hitting a low of 8,625.80 and a high of 8,672.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 19.50 points or 0.22 percent to 8,902.10. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is adding more than 1 percent, while Mineral Resources, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.1
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is edging up 0.5 percent, Origin Energy is gaining more than 2 percent and Santos is adding almost 1 percent, while Woodside Energy is edging down 0.3 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent, Xero is edging up 0.5 percent and Appen is advancing more than 4 percent, while WiseTech Global and Zip are adding almost 2 percent each.
Among the big four banks, National Australia bank and ANZ Banking are declining almost 2 percent each, while Westpac is losing more than 2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is down more than 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging up 0.4 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are gaining almost 1 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is edging down 0.5 percent.
In economic news, the annual inflation rate in Australia eased to 4.2 percent in April 2026 from 4.6 percent in March, coming in below expectations for a slowdown to 4.4 percent, but still remaining above the central bank's 2 to 3 percent target range.
The trimmed mean CPI rose 3.4 percent on year, the highest since September 2024 and in line with market expectations, while the weighted median CPI increased 3.5 percent, unchanged from March. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent, slowing sharply from a seven-month high gain of 1.1 percent in March, and coming in below the expected 0.6 percent increase.
Meanwhile, total construction work in Australia grew by 3.4 percent on quarter to A$83,360.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing market expectations of a 0.8 percent increase and the previous period's revised 0.2 percent rise. The increase also marked the sharpest since the first quarter of 2023.
On an annual basis, overall construction activity rose by 6.3 percent in the first quarter, marking the strongest growth since December 2023 and accelerating from a 3.2 percent gain in the preceding period.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.717 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 65,800 level to fresh all-time highs, with gains in technology stocks partially offset by weakness in automakers and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 65,816.62, up 820.53 points or 1.26 percent, after touching a fresh all-time high of 66,428.81 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining almost 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.2 percent and Toyota is losing almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent, Screen Holdings is jumping more than 7 percent and Tokyo Electron is surging almost 6 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing more than 1 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is declining almost 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent and Panasonic is edging up 0.3 percent, while Sony is losing more than 2 percent. Canon is flat.
Among other major gainers, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Hoya are jumping more than 6 percent each, while Toto and Sumitomo Electric Industries are surging more than 5 percent each. SHIFT and NSK are advancing almost 5 percent each, while FUJIFILM Holdings is gaining more than 4 percent. JTEKT is adding almost 4 percent and Lasertec is rising more than 3 percent, while Sapporo Holdings and Kubota are up almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Socionext is tumbling almost 6 percent, Astellas Pharma is sliding more than 5 percent, Sharp is slipping more than 4 percent and Sumitomo Realty & Development is losing almost 4 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries, IHI, Japan Steel Works, Furukawa Electric, Tokyo Tatemono and Aozora Bank are all declining almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 3.0 percent on year in April, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday - beneath expectations for 3.3 percent, which would have been unchanged from the March reading. On a monthly basis, producer prices were up 0.5 percent - slowing from 1.3 percent in the previous month. Excluding international transportation, producer prices were up 2.5 percent on year and 0.5 percent on month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are surging 5.0 and 2.9 percent, respectively. New Zealand is up 0.8 percent, while China and Hong Kong are down 0.5 and 0.6 percent, respectively. Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are closed for Hari Raya Haji holiday.
On the Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged to a new record closing high on Tuesday, with technology stocks showing a substantial move to the upside. The S&P 500 also advanced to a new record closing high, while the narrower Dow showed a modest move to the downside.
The Nasdaq shot up 312.21 points or 1.2 percent to 26,656.18 and the S&P 500 climbed 45.65 points or 0.6 percent to 7,519.12, while the Dow dipped 118.02 points or 0.2 percent to 50,461.68.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday on optimism that a U.S.-Iran peace deal could soon lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $2.72 or 2.82 percent at $93.88 per barrel.
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