By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended Wednesday?s session on an upbeat note as American firms posted strong quarterly earnings and tensions eased on the Korean Peninsula.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is engaged in direct talks at ?extremely high levels? with North Korea to try to set up a summit in the next two months.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 24.51 points or 0.8 percent at 3,091.31 after the People’s Bank of China lowered the reserve requirement ratio for most commercial banks in a bid to free up funds for lending and improve liquidity. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 221.50 points or 0.7 percent to 30,284.25.
In another development, China said it would allow full foreign ownership of automakers in five years, ending restrictions that helped to fuel its dispute with Washington.
Japanese shares rallied as the yen weakened on hopes for improved relations between the U.S. and North Korea. Investors also digested trade data and kept an eye on the U.S.-Japan summit talks.
The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 310.61 points or 1.4 percent to 22,158.20, while the broader Topix index closed up 1.1 percent at 1 749.67. Toyota Motor rose 0.7 percent, Sony rallied 1.6 percent and Panasonic added 1.5 percent on a weaker yen.
Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 797.3 billion yen in March, the Ministry of Finance said, up 32.1 percent year-over-year. The surplus exceeded expectations for 499.2 billion yen and was up sharply from 3.4 billion yen in February.
Australian shares eked out modest gains, led by miners as Chinese steel prices climbed following the central bank?s move to cut reserve requirements for banks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 19.90 points or 0.3 percent to 5,861.40, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 22 points or 0.4 percent at 5,956.30.
Rio Tinto rose 1.1 percent after reporting an increase in first-quarter iron ore shipments, and rival BHP Billiton gained half a percent ahead of its quarterly production report due out Thursday. South32 rallied 2.5 percent and BlueScope Steel shares jumped 4.1 percent.
Woodside Petroleum gained 1.1 percent after its first-quarter revenue rose 30 percent from a year earlier. Santos, Oil Search, Origin Energy and Beach Energy climbed 1-2 percent.
Meanwhile, AMP lost 2.2 percent to extend losses from the previous session after the wealth manager admitted in the banking royal commission that it lied or misled the corporate regulator twenty times about its business practices.
Seoul stocks closed higher after Trump said his administration has been in direct contact with North Korea and South Korea said it is seeking a peace deal with the country, helping ease political tensions.
The benchmark Kospi surged up 26.21 points or 1.1 percent to 2,479.98, led by technology stocks. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 2.8 percent and chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 2.2 percent.
Adedapo Adesanya 
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