Asian stocks climb as strong earnings lift Wall Street

Asian stocks climbed on Wednesday as Wall Street posted gains, buoyed by early indications from the corporate earnings season showing strong profits for global companies and boosting investor confidence. The MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.5%, driven by a 4% increase in Korean shares, while Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3%.

S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.3%. In the region, stocks have steadied after a sharp sell-off last week, but have traded in a narrow range since then. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% as oil prices and Treasury yields eased. Among the 13% of S&P 500 companies that have reported, 86% have beaten earnings estimates. Global equities were mixed, with strong US market performance offsetting concerns about the AI trade and high oil and borrowing costs elsewhere.

Analysts noted that oil prices fell following unconfirmed reports of renewed peace negotiations, only to rebound once those reports were denied. Meanwhile, French stocks declined as concerns persisted over the government's strategy to address recent unrest, with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announcing a significant increase in police deployment.

The yield on the French 10-year bond rose 2.7 basis points to 4.94%, increasing the yield differential with the German 10-year bund to 153.1 basis points. Brent crude oil prices climbed 1.1% to $110.03 a barrel as Asian markets reopened, with traders weighing the meeting between Iran's president and Pakistan's army chief against ongoing attacks by Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia and vessel attacks in the Gulf.

A US envoy was set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while President Donald Trump said it was time for Ukraine to end the war. Meanwhile, the yen weakened slightly against the dollar, and Japan's exports in September rose 16.7% year-over-year, exceeding forecasts. Traders are looking forward to a decision from Indonesia's central bank, which is grappling with the rupiah's decline following an MSCI warning about potentially excluding the country's stocks from its major indices. Bitcoin and Ether also saw modest gains of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.