Summary

- Asia-Pacific markets open higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight. - Oil prices extend decline as Trump signals de-escalation in Mideast. - Kospi soars to another record. South Korea's Kospi hit another record Wednesday as Asia-Pacific markets opened higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight after oil prices dropped and strong earnings lifted investor sentiment. Signaling diplomatic efforts for resolving the Middle East crisis were on track, President Donald Trump said the U.S. bid to guide ships out of Strait of Hormuz had been paused. "We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said in his Truth Social post. The U.S. military on Monday began guiding commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz under Project Freedom. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday said that "two U.S. commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have already safely transited the strait, showing the lane is clear." West Texas Intermediate futures for June was 1.96% lower at $100.27 per barrel as of 8:03 p.m. ET. Brent crude futures for July declined 1.27% to $108.48 per barrel. South Korea's Kospi advanced 4.50% to scale a new peak, building on its more than 70% gains this year so far, as markets resumed trading following a holiday. The small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.15%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.58% higher. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 25,860, compared with the index's last close of 25,898.61. Japan stock market trading is closed due to a holiday. S&P 500 futures added 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.6%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 30 points, or less than 0.1%. During Tuesday's regular session, the S&P 500 rose 0.81%, hitting a new all-time high and closing at a record of 7,259.22. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03%, touching a new high and notching a closing record of 25,326.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 356.35 points, or 0.73%, to end at 49,298.25. — CNBC's Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.