Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid developments in the Middle-East conflict even as U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly said the war against Iran could end "very soon." Trump also said Iran would be hit "twenty times harder" if they do anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

Echoing Trump's confidence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted in a press conference that Iran is "badly losing" but said the U.S. will still be launching its "most intense day of strikes" in Iran.

The latest developments in the Middle East are likely to remain in focus, although a report on US consumer price inflation may still attract attention.

The Trump administration sent mixed signals on the Iran war, with President Donald Trump saying the conflict could end soon amid mounting market pressure, while senior officials indicated that military operations were intensifying and diplomatic talks remained unlikely. Iran's Revolutionary Guards dismissed Trump's claims, warning that the blockade would continue until US and Israeli attacks cease

Meanwhile, crude oil prices tumbled after reports that the International Energy Agency proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history, surpassing the 182 million barrels the group released in 2022

Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,700 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 30.30 points or 0.35 percent to 8,722.90, after touching a high of 8,759.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 29.70 points or 0.33 percent to 8,953.90. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent, Fortescue is up almost 3 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 3 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent, while Santos and Woodside Energy are edging up 0.3 percent each. Beach energy is down almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent, Xero is slipping almost 2 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 4 percent, while Zip is edging up 0.4 percent and Appen is surging more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are gaining more than 1 percent each, while National Australia bank is adding almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, Resolute Mining is rising more than 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is advancing more than 3 percent, Newmont is adding almost 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is edging up 0.4 percent.

In other news, shares in Lynas Rare Earths are jumping almost 14 percent after the rare earths producer outlined an updated long-term marketing agreement with a key Japanese partner, Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE), extending the partnership through to 2038.

Shares in Dateline Resources are surging more than 8 percent after the rare earths company announced a major expansion of its Music Valley Heavy Rare Earth Project in California.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.714 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging more than 2 percent to well above the 55,350 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 55,387.75, up 1,139.36 points or 2.10 percent, after touching a high of 55,549.22 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is jumping more than 8 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is adding almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding almost 2 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent, Canon is edging up 0.4 percent, Panasonic is advancing more than 4 percent and Sony is adding almost 2 percent.

Among other major gainers, Resonac Holdings is jumping almost 10 percent, Nintendo is soaring more than 7 percent and Furukawa Electric is surging more than 6 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Yokogawa Electric are rising almost 6 percent each. Mitsui Kinzoku and Otsuka Holdings are gaining more than 5 percent each, while Ryohin Keikaku, Denka, Yokohama Rubber and Nippon Electric Glass are adding almost 5 percent each. Tokyo Electric Power and Fujikura are up almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In economic news, producer prices in Japan were down 0.1 percent on month in February, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.1 percent and down from 0.2 percent in January. On a yearly basis, producer prices were up 2.0 percent - again missing forecasts for 2.2 percent and down from 2.3 percent in the previous month.

Export prices were up 1.5 percent on month and 5.9 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices rose 0.9 percent on month and 0.6 percent on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 158 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are surging 3.3 and 2.6 percent, respectively. New Zealand and Indonesia are up 1.3 and 1.0 percent, respectively. Hong Kong and Malaysia are up 2 percent each. Singapore is bucking the trend and is down 0.2 percent. China is relatively flat.

On the Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after recovering from an early sell-off to end Monday's session mostly higher. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq inched up 1.16 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 22,697.10, the Dow edged down 34.29 points or 0.1 percent to 47,706.51 and the S&P 500 dipped 14.51 points or 0.2 percent to 6,781.48. Meanwhile, the major European markets have shown strong moves back to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged by 2.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices plunged on Tuesday after Trump said that the ongoing war would end "very soon" but provided no details. The conflict has driven oil prices to sky-high levels in recent days. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery tumbled $9.47 or 9.99 percent at $85.30 per barrel.