Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle-East conflict after the U.S. sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war through mediators that are being reviewed by Iran. A pause on U.S. military strikes against Iran for five days also eased market tension and boosted investor confidence. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

U.S. and a group of regional mediators are discussing the possibility of holding high-level peace talks with Iran as soon as Thursday, but they are still waiting for a response from Tehran. Israeli media indicated that Washington was seeking a one-month ceasefire to facilitate negotiations.

As the conflict entered its 26th day, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are edging toward joining the fight against Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Australian shares are trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,500 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only weak spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 159.40 points or 1.90 percent to 8,538.80, after touching a high of 8,564.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 174.50 points or 2.04 percent to 8,745.80. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 3 percent, Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent, Fortescue is up almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is losing more than 3 percent, Woodside Energy is declining almost 4 percent and Beach energy is slipping more than 4 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, Xero is edging up 0.3 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing more than 2 percent, Zip is surging almost 6 percent and Appen is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 2 percent and Westpac is adding more than 2 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and National Australia bank are advancing more than 1 percent each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Newmont are jumping more than 7 percent each, while Resolute Mining is advancing almost 5 percent, Northern Star Resources is surging more than 6 percent and Genesis Minerals is soaring almost 10 percent.

In economic news, Australia's annual inflation edged down to 3.7 percent in February 2026, compared with market forecasts of 3.8 percent, which were also in line with the prior two months. However, the latest result remained outside the central bank's 2 to 3 percent target.

The trimmed mean CPI inched lower to 3.3 percent on year, below both the prior figure and consensus of 3.4 percent. Monthly, the CPI was flat, reversing a 0.4 percent gain in January.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.698 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging 2.6 percent to above the 53,600 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights, technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 53,616.45, up 1,364.17 points or 2.61 percent, after touching a high of 54,022.88 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is jumping almost 8 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is adding more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is advancing almost 4 percent, while Advantest and Tokyo Electron are surging more than 5 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing almost 4 percent, Mizuho Financial is surging almost 5 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 3 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 4 percent, Canon is up more than 1 percent, Panasonic is advancing more than 3 percent and Sony is adding almost 2 percent.

Among other major gainers, Furukawa Electric is jumping more than 10 percent, Tokio Marine is soaring almost 10 percent, Mitsui Kinzoku is surging more than 8 percent and Sumco is advancing almost 8 percent, while Fujikura and Sumitomo Electric Industries are rising more than 7 percent each. Ibiden, Ebara and Socionext are gaining more than 6 percent each, while Mitsubishi Materials and Lasertec are adding almost 6 percent each. Sompo Holdings and T&D Holdings are up more than 5 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In economic news, the Bank of Japan will on Wednesday release the minutes from its monetary policy meeting on Jan. 22-23. At the meeting, the BoJ retained its key interest rate at 0.75 percent, as expected, and raised its economic growth outlook - upgrading GDP growth for fiscal 2025 to 0.9 percent from 0.7 percent and fiscal 2026 was lifted to 1.0 percent from 0.7 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are surging 2.2 and 2.8 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.4 and 1.5 percent each.

On the Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday following the recovery rally seen during the previous session. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session before eventually closing in negative territory.

The Nasdaq slid 184.87 points or 0.8 percent to 21,761.89, the S&P 500 fell 24.63 points or 0.4 percent to 6,556.37 and the Dow dipped 84.41 points or 0.2 percent to 46,124.06. Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as market participants found U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of U.S.-Iran peace talks to be unfounded. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $3.90 or 4.43 percent at $92.03 per barrel.