British News Agency

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading more than 6 percent higher Wednesday after returning from a public holiday on Tuesday, signalling further optimism about Beijing’s stimulus policies.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading even. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2 percent, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.6 percent, while the Topix was down 0.8 percent.

Markets in mainland China were closed Wednesday and will remain closed for the rest of the week due to the Golden Week holiday. 

On Tuesday, new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office following his election as head of the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week. He succeeded Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who formally stepped down earlier.

Some analysts believe Ishiba’s ascension could give the Bank of Japan more scope to raise interest rates further. Stocks in Japan fell Monday as investors digested the news before rebounding slightly on Tuesday.

In individual stock news, Mitsubishi Motors was up 4.6 percent after Mitsubishi Motors North America reported a 22.1 percent increase in year-to-date sales compared to last year. Mitsubishi Electric rose 1 percent.

In the U.S. markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 173 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.93 percent and 1.53 percent, respectively. Oil prices jumped as Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel.

The attack followed Israel’s start of a ground operation in Lebanon as tensions escalated with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s missile attacks had failed and vowed retaliation: “Iran made a big mistake tonight — and it will pay for it. The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.”