Stocks in Asia gained ground during Wednesday trade, following an overnight rally on Wall Street.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 popped 367.56 points, or 1.8% to 20,776.10, with shares of index heavyweight Fanuc surging 3%
Shares of conglomerate Softbank Group jumped 3% after the company announced Tuesday that it expected to book a profit of 1.2 trillion yen (approx. $11.1 billion U.S.) from the sale of shares in Chinese tech giant Alibaba.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.08 against the dollar after touching levels around 107.9 in the previous session.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng regained 137.92 points, or 0.5%, to 26,895.44. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE soared around 4%.
Korean shares pointed slightly upward, with shares of automaker Hyundai Motor gaining 1.44%.
Australian markets enjoyed healthy gains, as majority of the sectors rose. The financial sub-index gained 1.19%, as shares of the country’s so-called Big Four banks advanced: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group added 0.9%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.24%,
Westpac jumped 1.36% and National Australia Bank gained 0.79%.
Australia’s economy grew less than expected in the first quarter, according to data on Wednesday. Gross domestic product grew 0.4% in the first three months ended March, slightly lower than a 0.5% increase that economists polled by Reuters predicted. The data came a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut its cash rate to a record low.
The Australian dollar last changed hands at $0.7000 U.S., after touching an earlier low of $0.6985.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 index dropped 1.37 points to 3,597.10
Investors also cheered comments made by the Chinese Commerce Ministry, which said in a post that the "differences and frictions between the two sides" should be dealt with through talks, according to a Google translation. Market watchers took those remarks as a sign of possible easing of trade tensions between Beijing and Washington after each country hiked tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other’s goods in May.
But, the post also said talks "need to be based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is set to meet with People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang at a gathering of G-20 finance leaders this weekend in Japan. The meeting would mark the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries in nearly a month
In other markets
Markets in Singapore were shuttered for holiday
In Korea, the Kospi index nicked up 2.14 points, or 0.1%, to 2,069.11
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index reasserted itself 32.5 points, or 0.3%, to 10,461.62
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 poked ahead 4.14 points to 9.956.06
In Australia, the ASX 200 strengthened 26.16 points, or 0.4%, to 6,358.52
