Asian stocks ended on a cautious note Wednesday after rising sharply in the previous session on Israel-Iran ceasefire relief.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding but elsewhere, Israel's army said seven of its soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, where the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas continued.
The U.S. dollar struggled to regain lost ground in Asian trade after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave balanced comments on prospects for rate cuts.
Gold edged up slightly after sharp losses in the prior session. Oil prices jumped nearly 2 percent but held near multi-week lows on the prospect that crude oil flows would not be disrupted.
China's Shanghai Composite surged 1.04 percent to 3,455.97 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.23 percent to 24,474.67 amid bets that Fed rate cuts amid a slump in oil prices will weaken the U.S. dollar and spur inflows to Asian markets.