Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.<\/p>\n
Yaorusheng | Moment | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday, with Japan and South Korea’s benchmark indices hitting new highs as investors assessed recent U.S. military action in Iran, the fragile state of the Washington-Tehran ceasefire and optimism that a deal could still be reached.<\/p>\n
Japan’s\u00a0Nikkei 225<\/a>\u00a0rose 1.49% to a fresh record high, while the Topix added 0.57%.<\/p>\n South Korea’s Kospi jumped 4.84% at the open, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.68%.<\/p>\n In Australia, the\u00a0S&P\/ASX 200<\/a> was up 0.13%.<\/p>\n Hong Kong’s\u00a0Hang Seng index<\/a>\u00a0futures were last at 25,508, lower than the index’s last close of 25,599.45.<\/p>\n U.S. forces carried out what the Pentagon described as “self-defense” strikes<\/a> in southern Iran early Tuesday, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian vessels allegedly attempting to deploy mines, even as Washington insisted it was still observing restraint under the ongoing ceasefire framework. <\/p>\n The military action highlighted the fragile truce between Washington and Tehran, with both sides continuing to test limits despite negotiations that the White House has described as nearing completion. <\/p>\n President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0said Monday that talks with Iran to end the war were “proceeding nicely.” That said, he did warn the U.S. could go on the offensive if negotiations break down.<\/p>\n Overnight on Wall Street, the\u00a0S&P 500<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Nasdaq Composite<\/a>\u00a0rose to fresh intraday all-time highs on Tuesday, led by technology, as traders weighed the developments in the Middle East.<\/p>\n The broad market S&P 500<\/a> gained 0.61% and ended at 7,519.12, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq<\/a> gained 1.19% to 26,656.18. Both indexes also closed at records. The\u00a0Dow Jones Industrial Average<\/a>\u00a0lost 118.02 points, or 0.23%, ending at 50,461.68. U.S. stock markets were closed Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday.<\/p>\n \u2014 CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Fred Imbert contributed to this report<\/p>\n