Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting a record high as investors appeared to shrug off uncertainty over US-Iran talks aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying on Tuesday that Iran has mined “large segments” of the Strait of Hormuz.
“They are shooting at commercial shipping and they have mined large segments of Hormuz — international waters,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This is his first appearance before Congress since the war with Iran on February 28.
A White House official told CNBC that the Pentagon destroyed numerous mines and over 40 mine-laying vessels.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway, especially for the global energy market – about 20% of the world’s oil supplies passed through the strait before the war.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 extended early gains to rise 2.94%, while the Topix added 2.14%.
China’s CSI 300 was 1.52% higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.73%, reports SEEbiz.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.82% even as the country reported GDP growth of 2.5% year-on-year for the first three months of the year, less than economists’ expectations of 2.6%. Growth was depressed by weaker household consumption, lower government spending, as well as the impact of severe weather disturbances on the mining industry.
India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.78%, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.85%.
South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.
West Texas Intermediate futures for June were 1.00% higher at $94.70 a barrel as of 11:45 PM ET. Brent crude futures for July rose 0.92% to $96.88 per barrel.
