Stocks in Asia were broadly higher on Wednesday following a bounce on Wall Street overnight on strong U.S. earnings.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shot higher 291.88 points, or 1.3%, to 22,841.12
Shares of Softbank shed some of their earlier gains but closed 2.1% higher after the company's Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure said it was "anxiously looking" at developments related to the disappearance of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Softbank has close ties to the Saudi administration, with a significant proportion of its investment capital stemming from the country.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen was at 112.24 against the U.S. dollar after weakening from levels around 111.8 yesterday.
Markets in Hong Kong were shuttered for holiday
Australian markets prospered, with most sectors higher — the energy sub-index was up by 0.6%, while the heavily weighted financials industry saw a gain of 1.4%
The Australian dollar traded at $0.7141 U.S. after seeing a low below the $0.712 mark yesterday.
CHINA
The CSI 300 restocked 17.28 points, or 0.6%, to 3,118.25
China trimmed its holdings of U.S. Treasurys in August by about $6 billion, to the lowest level since June 2017. China's holdings of Treasury bills, notes and bonds fell to $1.165 trillion, from $1.171 trillion in July, according to U.S. Treasury data.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index regained 36.79 points, or 1.2%, to 3,071.10
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dropped 1.96 points to 9,979.14
In Korea, the Kospi index added 22.39 points, or 1%, at 2,167.51
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 leaped 108.34 points, or 1.2%, to 8,911.79
In Australia, the ASX 200 hiked 69.21 points, or 1.2%, to 5,939.09
