06:49 AM EDT, 08/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday on overnight Wall Street cues, as tech traders toggled "risk on" on hopes for a Persian Gulf settlement, and lower crude prices.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges.

Front month Brent oil futures traded near $81 a barrel during Asian market hours, down from near $86 a barrel on Tuesday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 3.7% after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said an arrangement to open the troubled Strait of Hormuz could be reached by the end of the week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 2,342.91 to 66,300.44, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 151 to 71.

Leading the upside was semiconductor-components maker Ibiden, up 25.5%, while Yokogawa Electric declined 10%, with both moves following earnings releases.

In economic news, average cash earnings in Japan increased by 3.4% on-year in June, reported the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The Japan final composite purchasing managers index (PMI), a combination of the manufacturing and services sectors, logged at 52.7 in July, down from 52.8 in June, but for the 16th-straight month it still notched above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly, waffled, but closed up 0.2% on strength in tech issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 62.90 to 25,915.82, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 47 to 44. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index was flat.

Leading the upside was mining-concern CMOC, gaining 8.6%, while bank HSBC declined 2.6%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.5% to 3,878.43.

In economic news, China's composite PMI fell to 50.8 in July from 53.6 in June, marking the lowest reading since July of a year ago.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 3.8%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 2.9%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.9%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.6%, and the Thai Set declined 0.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.1%

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 2.1% on the day.