South Korea’s Kospi hit a second straight day of record highs Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone on his tariff threat against Seoul.
In Korea, the Kospi index grabbed 85.96 points, or 1.7%, to 5,170.81.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 eked higher 25.17 points, or 0.1%, to 53,358.71.
Late Tuesday, the yen strengthened to its highest level in almost three months against the dollar, touching a low of 152.08 amid intervention expectations swirling around the currency.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index popped 699.96 points, or 2.6%, to 27,826.91, led by energy stocks.
Australia saw headline inflation come in at 3.6% in the last quarter of 2025, its highest level in six quarters. Its index scaled off slightly, though.
In other markets
The CSI 300 in Shanghai gained 12.3 points, or 0.3%, to 4,717.99.
In Taiwan, the Taiex vaulted 485.9 points, or 1.5%, to 32,803.82.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index sank 13.68 points, or 0.3%. to 4,909.34.
In Australia, the ASX cooled 7.72 points, or 0.1%, to 8,933.90.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 descended 98.01 points, or 0.7%, to 13,421.87
