Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.67% to close at 27,680.26 with Fast Retailing and Tokyo Electron up 2.59% and 4.88% respectively. The Topix index rose 2.29% to 1,946.44 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index briefly traded 2 percent higher and was up 1.5 percent in its final trading hour. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 2.16%. Tencent rose 2.1% and Meituan rose 3.91%. A little bit of good news goes a long way in this market. Tai Hui Chief Global Market Strategist for APAC, JPMorgan Asset Management South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.67 percent at 2,386.85 and the Kosdaq was up 1.07 percent at 790.72. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.65% to 6,759.2 points. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe said on Wednesday that inflation for the June quarter to be announced next week will show further acceleration and there should be a path back to 2% to 3% inflation. Prices rose 5.1% in the March quarter. In his speech, Low also said that the neutral nominal rate is at least 2.5%, while current rates are at 1.35%. Markets in mainland China moved higher. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.77% to 3,304.72 and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.63% to 12,573.12. China kept its one-year and five-year prime lending rates unchanged at 3.7 percent and 4.45 percent on Wednesday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.21 percent.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday stateside after strong earnings reports. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 754.44 points, or 2.43%, at 31,827.05. The S&P 500 jumped 2.76% to 3,936.69 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.11% to 11,713.15. In addition to the positive lead from Wall Street, there were also reports that Russia and Ukraine are nearing a deal to end a grain export blockade and that Nord Stream 1 is likely to resume gas exports on schedule after completion of maintenance. “There is still a lot of uncertainty about whether they will actually materialize, [but] a little bit of good news goes a long way in this market,” Tai Hui, head of global market strategy for APAC at JPMorgan Asset Management, told CNBC in a phone call on Wednesday. That said, it’s likely to be a short-term recovery in the market as uncertainties about the Fed’s earnings and corporate earnings remain, he said. In company news, Japanese carmaker Toyota said its August production will be around 700,000 units, down from a previously announced figure of 850,000 units, due to parts shortages related to Covid disruptions. Toyota shares were 0.78% higher on Wednesday.

Coins and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of peers, was at 106.503, after falling sharply. The Japanese yen traded at 138.13 per dollar, stronger than levels seen last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.6919, strengthening from earlier this week. India’s rupee changed hands at 79.95 per dollar on Wednesday, after hitting a record low on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Bitcoin continued to gain ground, forming above $23,000 at $23,664.41 at 3.25am. ET Wednesday. U.S. crude futures were down 1.34% at $102.82 a barrel, while Brent crude was down 1.14% at $106.13 a barrel. Both benchmarks were 1% higher in the previous session.