The Japanese stock market ended slightly higher on Wednesday. The hope that an agreement could still be reached in Washington on a new support package for the US economy caused optimism among investors.
The other major stock exchanges in the Asian region also showed gains predominantly.
The Nikkei in Tokyo closed 0.3 percent in the plus at 23,639.46 points. Japanese do-it-yourself company Shimachu made a price jump of more than 14 percent after furniture seller Nitori Holdings announced that it could make an offer for the company. ANA Holdings gained nearly 2 percent.
According to Kyodo News, the corona-hit airline is expected to suffer a multi-billion dollar loss in the current fiscal year. Takara Bio gained more than 5 percent thanks to an increase in the profit forecast by the Japanese biotechnology company.
In Shanghai, the main index dropped 0.5 percent in the meantime, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.8 percent. Cathay Pacific rose 3.5 percent in Hong Kong. The airline is cutting thousands of jobs due to the corona crisis.
The company Cathay Dragon, which is mainly active in Asia, will also disappear. The Kospi in Seoul won 0.2 percent, and the Australian All Ordinaries in Sydney climbed 0.1 percent.