Benchmarks in Australia, South Korea and Japan all climbed in early trading Wednesday, pushing a gauge of Asian shares 0.4% higher. Geopolitical tensions may add headwinds to the markets, which had calmed recently after a month of turmoil from the tariff blitz unleashed by US President Donald Trump. We look at how the tariff story is resonating through the Asia-Pacific with Helen Zhu, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at NF Trinity.

Plus - oil rose after CNN reported that US intelligence had suggested Israel is making preparations for a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Stocks in Asia advanced on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate gained 1.5% to $62.96 a barrel. It's not clear that Israeli leaders had made a final decision to carry out the strikes, CNN said, citing unnamed officials. Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were down 0.1%, paring most of their losses earlier in the day. We get reaction to the day's macro headlines from Brian Vendig, President and Chief Investment Officer at MJP Wealth Advisors.

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Asian shares rose for the first time in four days, mirroring gains in the US that placed the S&P 500 index on the brink of a bull market. A regional stock gauge gained 0.5% after the S&P 500 index climbed for a sixth straight day. Shares in Hong Kong advanced 0.3%, with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. jumping 13% in its local debut. Treasuries were steady after whipsawing on Monday with the downgrading of US debt by Moody's Ratings. US equity-index futures edged down while gold dipped 0.1% as haven demand ebbed. We break down the market reaction with Rob Williams, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Strategist at Sage Advisory Services.

Plus - could Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub may be entering a new phase? With major listings like CATL and Hengrui Pharmaceuticals drawing significant foreign inflows, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren joins to discuss how the city is offering Chinese firms a path to global capital while sidestepping geopolitical flashpoints.

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The dollar edged lower along with US equity-index futures after Moody's Ratings stripped the US government of its top credit rating, citing a ballooning budget deficit it said showed little sign of narrowing. US stock futures declined 0.7% after the ratings were slashed one level to Aa1 from Aaa Friday. A gauge of the dollar weakened 0.3% and Treasuries were little changed at the open Monday. Shares in Japan, Australia and South Korea were weaker at the open. We get reaction from Larry Tentarelli, Chief Technical Strategist at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report.

Plus - holding longer-term Treasuries and importing Japanese cars manufactured in the US are among the possible bargaining chips for Tokyo in its talks with Washington over President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, according to the leader of a small but influential opposition party. Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, said in an interview last week that Japan could offer to reinvest proceeds from maturing US Treasury holdings into super-long bonds in return for concessions on tariffs. Those comments come ahead of the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Canada this week. We get more on Japan's outlook from Tobias Harris, Founder and Principal at Japan Foresight. He speaks with Bloomberg's Yvonne Man and Avril Hong.

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