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[Mitsubishi UFJ: The U.S.-Iran conflict seems to have turned into a long-term stalemate] Mitsubishi UFJ analyst Lloyd Chan said in a research report that the U.S.-Iran conflict seems to have turned into a long-term stalemate rather than a quick resolution. The senior currency analyst said the United States appears to be using the blockade of Iranian ports to force Tehran to reach a peace agreement or risk further military escalation. "For the market, this environment means continued disruption to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz," Chan said. The analyst added that pressure points were more pronounced in oil-sensitive currencies, including the Philippine peso and the Thai baht.

NI225 hit another record high during the session.

Market news: Japan’s Finance Minister will meet with the banking community to discuss the threat to Anthropic’s Mythos model.

Boeing has begun formal certification testing of engine anti-ice design repairs for its 737 MAX aircraft.

HSI opened on April 22 (Wednesday), down 183.88 points, or 0.69%, to 26303.6 points;Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Technology Index opened on April 22 (Wednesday), down 51.74 points, or 1.02%, to 5009.76 points; The state-owned enterprise index opened down 65.11 points, or 0.73%, to 8878.43 points on April 22 (Wednesday); The red chip index opened down 17.63 points, or 0.4%, to 4356.85 points on April 22 (Wednesday).

Hong Kong stocks opened, with the Hang Seng Index opening down 0.69% and the Hang Seng Technology Index opening down 1.02%; most technology and Internet stocks fell, with Alibaba (09988.HK), Baidu (09888.HK), and JD.com (09618.HK) all opening down more than 2%.

Japan's five-year government bond yield rose 2.0 basis points to 1.825%.

At the opening of early trading, the main domestic futures contracts were mixed. SC crude oil, fuel oil, low-sulfur fuel oil (LU), and styrene (EB) rose by more than 2%, rapeseed meal, soybean oil, asphalt, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), palm oil, soybean meal, PTA, and ethylene glycol (EG) rose by more than 1%; in terms of decline, Shanghai silver fell by nearly 4%, apples, polysilicon, and Shanghai tin fell by more than 1%, and Shanghai gold, stainless steel, and synthetic rubber fell by nearly 1%.

According to the AXIOS website: U.S. President Trump is considering extending the exemption time of the Jones Act to relax restrictions on U.S. oil transportation.

President Trump: Four days ago, someone came to me and said, "Iran wants to open the Straits immediately." But if we do that, we will never be able to make a deal with Iran without destroying the rest of their country, including their leaders!

U.S. President Trump: The reason why Iran said it wanted to close the strait is because I have completely blocked (closed) the strait, so they just want to "save face."

Australia's S&P/ASX200 index opened down 46.10 points, or 0.52%, on Wednesday, April 22, to 8903.30 points.

NI225 opened down 160.91 points on April 22 (Wednesday), or 0.27%, to 59188.26 points.

Japan's seasonally adjusted merchandise trade account in March was 90.691 billion yen, compared with the expected 240.1 billion yen and the previous value of -374.2 billion yen.

Japan's non-seasonally adjusted merchandise trade balance in March was 667 billion yen, compared with the expected 1,106.3 billion yen. The previous value was revised from 57.3 billion yen to 44.3 billion yen.

Japan's March merchandise export annual rate was 11.7%, expected to be 11%. The previous value was revised from 4.20% to 4.00%.

Japan's March merchandise import annual rate was 10.9%, expected to be 7.1%. The previous value was revised from 10.20% to 10.30%.

United Nations Secretary-General Guterres issued a statement through his spokesperson, welcoming the U.S. announcement to extend the ceasefire, believing that this is an important step to cool down the situation and creates a key space for diplomatic contacts and mutual trust between Iran and the United States.

According to CNN: US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will participate in the upcoming Israel-Lebanon direct talks as a member of the US delegation.

Futures on the three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher on Wednesday, with Nasdaq futures rising 0.4%; spot gold and silver also rose, with gold rising 0.1% and silver rising 0.5%.