<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div> (RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight, after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and Iran also agreed to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The resultant drop in crude oil prices also eased global inflation and economic growth concerns. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on US President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by two weeks to &#34;allow diplomacy to run its course.&#34; Trump had earlier threatened to attack Iran's power plants and bridges if Tehran fails to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm ET. Sharif also asked Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a &#34;goodwill gesture.&#34; &#34;We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region,&#34; Sharif said. Australian shares are trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&amp;P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,900 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only weak spot. The benchmark S&amp;P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 215.50 points or 2.47 percent to 8,944.30, after touching a high of 8,986.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 231.20 points or 2.59 percent to 9,152.40. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday. Among major miners, BHP Group is advancing more than 4 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 3 percent, Mineral Resources is surging almost 7 percent and Fortescue is adding more than 2 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is losing more than 3 percent and Woodside Energy is plunging more than 10 percent, while Santos and Beach energy are tumbling more than 7 percent each. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent, Zip is soaring almost 11 percent, Appen is advancing almost 5 percent, Xero are adding almost 4 percent and WiseTech Global is surging more than 5 percent. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Westpac and National Australia bank are advancing almost 4 percent each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are jumping more than 7 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is surging more than 5 percent, Newmont is gaining more than 4 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 6 percent. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.706 on Wednesday. The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging 5 percent to above the 56,050 level, with gains across all sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 56,078.83, up 2,649.27 points or 4.96 percent, after touching a high of 56,304.49 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly higher Tuesday. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is surging more than 6 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding more than 2 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 4 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is jumping more than 10 percent, Screen Holdings is surging almost 8 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 9 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are advancing more than 4 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 3 percent. Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is advancing almost 4 percent, Canon is gaining almost 1 percent, Panasonic is surging more than 5 percent and Sony is adding more than 3 percent. Among other major gainers, Furukawa Electric is soaring almost 14 percent and Kioxia Holdings is jumping more than 13 percent, Sumitomo Electric Industries is surging more than 10 percent and Fujikura is advancing almost 10 percent, while Renesas Electronics, Resonac Holdings, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, Ebara and Mitsui Chemicals are rising more than 8 percent each. Ibiden, Disco and Mitsui Kinzoku are gaining almost 8 percent each, while Yokohama Rubber is adding more than 7 percent. Conversely, Inpex is declining more than 5 percent, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is losing more than 4 percent, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is down almost 4 percent, Nippon Yusen K.K. is slipping more than 3 percent and Idemitsu Kosan is sliding almost 3 percent. In economic news, Japan posted a current account surplus of 3.933 trillion yen in February, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That exceeded forecasts for 3.549 trillion yen and was up from the downwardly revised 931 billion yen surplus in January (originally 942 billion yen). Exports were up 2.8 percent on year at 9.372 trillion yen and imports rose an annual 9.7 percent to 9.104 trillion yen for a trade surplus of 267.6 billion yen. The capital account saw a deficit of 29.6 billion yen and the financial account had a surplus of 4.242 trillion yen. In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Wednesday. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are surging 5.9 and 4.3 percent, respectively. Hong Kong and Indonesia are up 2.4 and 2.9 percent, respectively. New Zealand and China are up 1.6 percent each. Singapore Malaysia are up 0.6 and 0.9 percent, respectively. On the Wall Street, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after coming under pressure early in the session. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session before eventually closing narrowly mixed. The Nasdaq inched up 21.51 points or 0.1 percent to 22,017.85 and the S&amp;P 500 crept up 5.02 points or 0.1 percent to 6,616.85, while the narrower Dow dipped 85.42 points or 0.2 percent to 46,584.46. Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.7 percent. Crude oil prices have inched higher on Tuesday as Iran remains unresponsive to U.S. threats to open up the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $0.65 or 0.58 percent at $113.06 per barrel. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

7267

9984

Asian stock markets are mostly higher following a U.S.-Iran ceasefire and a temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which eased crude oil prices and inflation concerns. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 rose 2.47%, led by mining and technology stocks, while the Nikkei 225 surged 4.96%, driven by gains in exporters and tech sectors. Major companies like BHP, SoftBank, and Honda saw significant increases. The Aussie dollar is trading at $0.706, and Japan reported a current account surplus of 3.933 trillion yen in February, exceeding forecasts.

Asian Markets A Sea Of Green Amid Middle East Ceasefire