Global shares advanced and oil prices eased as markets looked for signs of whether a shaky truce between the United States and Iran will be extended.
European shares gained 0.3 per cent on Wednesday, following advances for Asian markets, including record highs for Japanese and South Korean stocks fuelled by optimism over AI. MSCI's All-Country World Index also added 0.2 per cent.
Iran said on Tuesday US strikes near the contested Strait of Hormuz represented a "gross violation" of a ceasefire in place for nearly seven weeks. The US said its attacks were defensive in nature.
"A deal might not yet be as imminent as hoped over the weekend," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote. "However it seems talks remain on track despite the targeted US strikes."
Overall, sentiment remained vulnerable as talks continued, aiming to reach a lasting halt to the three-month-long conflict that has rocked energy markets. Investors were also watching central banker comments for how the crisis is affecting the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
Earlier, Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose for a fifth straight day to an all-time high, adding 1.1 per cent.
Japan's Nikkei gained 0.5 per cent, trading above the 66,000 mark for the first time. South Korea's KOSPI also hit a record high, gaining 3.4 per cent as chipmaker SK Hynix surged beyond $1 trillion in market value for the first time.
Domestic rival Samsung 005930.KS surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time in early May, while US-listed MicronMU.O did so on Tuesday.
The safe-haven dollar held on to gains from the previous session.
US stock futures made slim gains.
Meanwhile, US crude fell 2 per cent to $92.04 a barrel, and Brent lost 1.5 per cent to $98.07 per barrel, after a nearly 4 per cent surge in the prior session, sparked by the new US strikes.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was little changed at 99.07. It added 0.15 per cent on Tuesday.
The yen hovered at 159.29 per dollar, near its May low that spurred Japanese currency intervention.
Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda struck a hawkish posture on Wednesday, saying the war-driven oil shock could become persistent in an environment of high-inflation expectations and rising wages.
European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel a day earlier advocated for an interest rate hike in June even if a US-Iran peace deal is reached.
The euro rose 0.2 per cent to $1.16.
New Zealand's dollar jumped 0.7 per cent against the dollar to $0.5878 after the central bank held interest rates steady but said rates would need to move up sooner.
"We have seen a previously dovish central bank, faced with an economy operating with a negative output gap, prepared to hike rates sooner and more aggressively than previously," ING analysts noted.
In bond markets, the yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 1.8 basis points to 4.473 per cent, down for a third day to the lowest since May 14.
On a light day for economic data, markets were looking forward to Thursday's release of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the measure favoured by the Federal Reserve for setting its 2 per cent annual inflation target.
