-- Asian stock markets tracked higher Wednesday amid reports that Iran and the US may again meet to negotiate a possible settlement to Middle East hostilities.
Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges. Exchanges in Bangkok remained closed on holiday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and held ground, finishing up 0.4% as the risk-on mood among traders was sustained on the Persian Gulf outlook.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 256.85 to 58,134.24, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 130 to 91.
Leading the upside was consultancy BayCurrent, up 14% after reporting earnings, while memory-device maker Kioxia declined 7.4%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and closed in the green, up 0.3% on hopes that oil prices may ebb in coming months, if conflicts in the Persian Gulf are resolved.
The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 75 to 25,947.32, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 48 to 40. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.2% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index was steady.
Leading the upside was Laopu Gold, rising 6.8%, while New Oriental Education and Technology declined 5.9%.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was almost flat, closing at 4,027.21.
On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 2.1%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 1.2%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.1%, and the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1.6%
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9% on the day.