Asian markets traded higher on Wednesday, following an overnight rally on Wall Street, amid hopes for a resumption of US-Iran peace talks, which improved risk appetite. A drop in crude oil prices also supported the rally.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.5% to the highest level in six weeks. Japan’s Nikkei also rallied 1.2% to 58,561, closing in on the record high of 59,332.43 from late February. The broader Topix rose 0.7% to 3,781.25.
Chinese blue-chips rose 0.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.2%. South Korea’s Kospi surged 3.02%, and the Kosdaq gained 1.65%.
US-Iran Talks Optimism
US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days. Pakistani and Iranian officials also said negotiations could restart, Reuters reported.
Signs that diplomatic engagement would continue helped calm markets, pushing crude oil prices lower, with the benchmark Brent oil prices slipping below $95 a barrel. Brent crude futures declined 0.7% to $94.13 a barrel, having slumped almost 5% overnight.
Wall Street
The US stock market ended sharply higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq climbing 2% to chalk up its 10th straight day of gains and the S&P 500 nearing its record closing high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 317.74 points, or 0.66%, to 48,535.99, while the S&P 500 rallied 81.14 points, or 1.18%, to finish at 6,967.38. The Nasdaq Composite closed 455.35 points, or 1.96%, higher at 23,639.08, marking its tenth daily advance in a row.
Indian Stock Market
The Indian stock market is also expected to open higher, following upbeat global market cues. The trends on Gift Nifty also signal a gap-up start for the benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, today.
The Gift Nifty was trading around the 24,229 level, a premium of nearly 370 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.
(With inputs from Agencies)
