Asian stocks today: Nikkei 225, Kospi rise more than 1% on US tech rally, optimism over US-Iran talks

Asian markets opened mixed to higher on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 up 1.79 percent and South Korea's Kospi gaining 1.52 percent, driven by a US tech-led rally. The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent and Nasdaq jumped 1.7 percent, posting their biggest quarterly gains since 2020, while a near 4 percent surge in semiconductor stocks drove record quarterly sector gains. Brent crude recovered to about $73.50 a barrel and gold held near $4,010 an ounce, while the Japanese yen hovered near a four-decade low of 162.65 against the dollar, raising expectations of potential Japanese intervention.