Asian shares mostly rose in early Wednesday trading, as investors kept an eye on the ongoing talks over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which remains largely shut down because of the war in Iran. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The global interest in artificial intelligence continued to boost some regional issues, while declining oil prices helped gear up optimism in oil-importing nations like Japan. Resource-poor Japan imports virtually all its oil.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% in morning trading to 66,227.55. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.2% to 9,142.60. South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.6% to 6,849.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.8% to 25,712.29, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.7% to 3,917.04.
Oil prices continued to fall. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped $2.06 to $80.30 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $2.31 to $86.27 a barrel.
Tensions between the United States and Iran seemed to ratchet higher after the Trump administration announced new sanctions to further hurt Iran's economy.