06:41 AM EDT, 04/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday after US officials overnight pledged to lessen trade tensions and indicated no plans to replace the leadership of the US Federal Reserve.

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the green, although Shanghai edged lower. Other regional exchanges advanced, with a 4.5% rise on Taiwan's TWSE index.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened sharply higher and held ground, finishing up 1.9% after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said international trade tensions should be lessened, and following comments by US President Donald Trump that he had no plans to replace US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato will meet in Washington this week with Bessent to discuss trade terms.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 648.03 to 34,868.63, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 206 to 16.

Leading the upside was image house Konica Minolta, up 10%, while home furnishings retailer Nitori declined 2.6%.

In economic news, Japan's flash composite purchasing managers index (PMI), a combination of the nation's manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 51.1 in April from 49.9 in March, striking above the 50-point threshold that separates growth from expansion, reported S&P Global.

The nation's manufacturing PMI rose marginally to 48.5 in April from 48.4 in March, while the services PMI rose to 52.2, up from 50.0, in the same time frame.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index finished up 2.4% on media reports of possibly de-escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 510.30 to 22,072.62, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 67 to 15. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 3.1% on the day, although the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.1%.

Leading the upside was smartphone and automaker Xiaomi, up 6.9%, while Chow Tai Fook Jewelry declined 7%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% to 3,296.36.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1.6%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 1.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1%, and the Thai Set rose 0.9%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.7%.

In other economic news, the seasonally adjusted flash India composite purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 60.0 in April from 59.5 in March, reported S&P Global.

The flash India manufacturing PMI in April reached 58.4, up from 58.1 in March, while the flash India services PMI reached 59.1 in April, up from 58.5 in March.

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