- Asian stock markets rose, with Japan and South Korea hitting new highs Wednesday
- Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.49% and Topix increased 0.57% to fresh peaks
- South Korea's Kospi surged 4.84% at open while Kosdaq fell 0.68%
Asian stock markets moved higher on Wednesday, with benchmark indices in Japan and South Korea reaching fresh highs as investors monitored tensions involving Iran, the status of ceasefire discussions with the U.S. and the possibility of further negotiations.
The advance in regional markets came after another strong session on Wall Street, where technology shares pushed major U.S. indices to record closes. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.49% to a new high, while the Topix added 0.57%. In South Korea, the Kospi surged 4.84% at the open. The smaller Kosdaq slipped 0.68%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.13%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index futures traded at 25,508, compared with the Tuesday's index close of 25,599.45.
Investors continued to assess the impact of recent U.S. military action in Iran and the condition of ceasefire efforts between Washington and Tehran, while also weighing expectations that talks between the two sides could continue.
U.S. markets ended mixed overnight. The S&P 500 advanced 0.61% to finish at 7,519.12, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.19% to 26,656.18. Both indices closed at record levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 118.02 points, or 0.23%, to settle at 50,461.68.
(With inputs from Bloomberg.)
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