Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday, following Wall Street's strong rebound overnight as investors cheered United States President Donald Trump's decision to postpone a 50% tariff on European Union imports until 9 July.
By 11 am AEST (1 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5%, South Korea’s Kospi 200 surged 1.6%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7%.
Investor focus in the region is turning to key economic data and policy announcements, with Australia's consumer price index (CPI) figures coming in largely steady at 2.4% in April.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points after its policy meeting later in the session.
The upbeat sentiment across Asia came on the heels of overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8%, the S&P 500 gained 2.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.5%, buoyed by easing trade tension signals from the White House.
Commodities were mixed. Brent crude slipped 0.9% to US$63.57 per barrel, while spot gold declined 1.3% to US$3,330.75 per ounce.
Chinese mainland markets showed limited movement. The Shanghai Composite edged down 0.2% to 3,340.7, while the CSI 300 fell 0.5% to 3,839.4.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% to 23,382.0.
India’s BSE Sensex underperformed the region, falling 0.8% to 81,551.6.
European markets traded mostly higher. London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7% to 8,778.1, Germany’s DAX added 0.8% to 24,226.5, while France’s CAC 40 was flat at 7,826.8.
