SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – MARCH 05: A currency dealer works in front of an electronic screen showing South Korea’s benchmark stock index (KOSPI) in a foreign exchange dealing room at Hana Bank headquarters on March 05, 2026 in Seoul, South Korea. The latest flare-up in the Iran conflict has hit export-dependent markets in South Korea and Japan, sending benchmark indices down sharply on fears rising energy costs and a longer-term impact on risk appetite could dampen corporate earnings and growth in Asia’s trade-driven economies. (Photo by Han Myung-gu/Getty Images)
Han Myung-gu | Getty Images News | getty images
Asia-Pacific markets opened largely higher on Wednesday, with US President Donald Trump’s comments pointing to possible talks with Iran improving sentiment, although Tehran has denied any direct talks with Washington.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said the US and Iran were “negotiating right now” and suggested Tehran was willing to reach a peace deal, adding that he had backed off threats to target Iranian energy infrastructure “based on the fact that we are negotiating.”
Australian S&P/ASX 200 Up more than 1.26% in early trade.
from japan Nikkei 225 The Chicago contract was set to jump at 53,180 and the futures contract in Osaka at 53,030 compared with the index’s previous close of 52,252.28.
However, Hong Kong Hang Seng Index The futures were at 24,972 compared to the index’s last close of 25,063.71.
Oil prices were lower in early trading hours in Asia. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 3.92% at $88.73 a barrel.
Overnight in the US, the S&P 500 retreated, giving back some of the sharp gains seen in the previous session, as crude oil prices rose again while the Iran war dragged into its fourth week.
The broader market index lost 0.37% to 6,556.37, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.41 points, or 0.18%, to 46,124.06. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.84% ​​to 21,761.89.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Hahn contributed to this report.
