Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight as falling oil prices and renewed hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran supported investor sentiment.
Regional equities were buoyed by reports that a second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran is under discussion, although no formal timetable has been confirmed.
U.S. President Donald Trump reinforced optimism earlier in the week, stating, “We’ve been called by the other side,” adding, “They’d like to make a deal very badly.”
By 11:35 am AEDT (1:35 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.8%, while South Korea’s KOSPI 200 outperformed with a 2.9% advance.
In South Korea, economic data highlighted mounting price pressures. Import prices surged 16.1% month-on-month in March, marking the sharpest increase in more than 28 years and accelerating significantly from a 1.5% rise in February, according to preliminary figures from the Bank of Korea.
The increase was largely driven by higher global oil prices amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
The data marked the steepest monthly gain since January 1998 and extended a nine-month run of increases. On an annual basis, import prices climbed 18.4%, while export prices rose 16.3% on the month and 28.7% year-on-year, also recording their strongest growth since 1998.
Separate labour market data showed South Korea added 206,000 jobs in March, exceeding expectations and marking the second consecutive month of gains above 200,000.
Employment rose 0.7% year-on-year to 28.79 million, while the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate eased to 2.7% from 2.9%. However, weakness persisted in youth employment and the manufacturing sector.
In Japan, core machinery orders delivered a strong rebound. Orders, which exclude volatile components such as ships and utilities, increased 13.6% month-on-month in February to JPY 1,115.9 billion, reversing a prior decline and significantly beating expectations for a contraction. On an annual basis, orders surged 24.7%.
Overnight in the United States, major benchmarks closed firmly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3%, the S&P 500 gained 2.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2%.
Among commodity markets, Brent crude fell 4.6% to US$94.79 per barrel, while Gold prices rose 2.1% to US$4,840.73 per ounce.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to 4,026.6, while the CSI 300 gained 1.2% to 4,701.3.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.8% to 25,872.3, while India’s BSE Sensex remained closed for a public holiday.
European markets also ended higher in the previous session. The UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 10,609.1, Germany’s DAX climbed 1.3% to 24,044.2, and France’s CAC 40 rose 1.1% to 8,327.9.
