Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday as oil prices softened on prospects that supply bottlenecks could ease, and after tech-sector bellwether Nvidia (NVDA) received permission to sell chips to China.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the green, as did other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 2.9% after Washington officials said oil tankers are transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, a pipeline sending Iraqi oil through Kurdistan was reportedly slated to be reopened.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1,539.01 to 55,239.40, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 205 to 19.

Leading the upside was Tokyo Electric Power, up 16.3% on reports that institutional investors are favorably responding to the utility's restructuring plans.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and gained in the afternoon, closing up 0.6% on Wall Street cues, and steadier oil prices.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 156.88 to 26,025.42, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 58 to 30. The Hang Seng TECH Index was flat on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.1%.

Leading the upside was ZTO Express, gaining 7.4%, while Li Auto declined 6.2%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 4,062.98.

South Korea's KOSPI Index rose 5% after Seoul regulators introduced rules to limit certain corporate restructurings and spin-offs that are considered dilutive to shareholders.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE advanced 1.5%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.3%, and the Thai Set gained 0.5%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.7%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 2% on the day.