Asia-Pacific markets rose Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting a record high, as investors appeared to look past uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.
In Japan, the Nikkei225 surged 1,667.89 points, or 2.5%, to 63,402.13.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 405.11 points, or 1.6%, to 25,633.21.
Tensions have escalated between Washington and Tehran, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying on Tuesday that Iran has mined “large segments” of the Strait of Hormuz.
“They’re firing on commercial ships and they’ve mined large segments of Hormuz — international waters,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This marks his first appearance before Congress since the Iran war on Feb. 28.
A White House official told the media that the Pentagon has destroyed numerous mines and over 40 minelaying vessels.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical waterway, particularly for the energy market globally — around 20% of the world’s oil supplies passed through the strait before the war.
Australian indexes hiked. The country reported GDP growth of 2.5% year on year for the first three months this year, missing economists’ expectations of 2.6%.
Growth was pressured by weaker household spending, lower government consumption, as well as impact from severe weather disruption to the mining industry.
In Korea, markets were closed for holiday.
In other markets;
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 index added 24.25 points, or 0.5%, to 4,938.81.
In Taiwan, the Taiex popped 901.85 points, or 2%, to 46,459.16.
In Singapore, the Straits Times 50 index was positive 40.82 points, or 0.8%, to 5,138.24.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 55.63 points, or 0.4%, to 13,115.08.
In Australia, the AZX 200 jumped 61.35 points, or 0.7%, to 8,785.73.
