Tokyo, Japan (BBN) – Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, after US equities rose higher on the back of a strong consumer confidence survey with markets awaiting the formal move by the UK to start an historic split with the European Union.
The Australian benchmark ASX 200 was up 0.79 per cent amid reports of the damage along northeast Australia in the wake of Cyclone Debbie, reports CNBC.
Tourist resorts along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and mainland coastal areas were belted with wind gusts stronger than 260 km per hour (160 mph) and there were reports of significant structural damage to homes and public infrastructure, Reuters reported.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was slipped 0.15 per cent.
Toshiba’s US subsidiary Westinghouse is set to file for US bankruptcy, in a bid to limit losses for the Japanese conglomerate.
Shares of Toshiba were down 0.23 per cent at 216 yen per stock, and more than 22 per cent lower since the start of the year.

In South Korea, the Kospi index was nearly flat, up 0.07 per cent.
Electronics giant Samsung Electronics shares were up 0.96 per cent.
It is expected to launch Galaxy S8 smartphone in New York later in the day, and in South Korea tomorrow.
The Shanghai composite was up 0.11 per cent in early trade and Shenzhen composite added 0.11 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.3 per cent.
US markets rose on Tuesday, after the Consumer Board Consumer Confidence Index hit 125.6, up from 116.1 in February, and the strongest reading since 2001.
The Dow Jones industrial average snapped its eighth day losing streak to jump 0.73 per cent to 20,701.5, the S&P 500 rose 0.73 per cent to close at 2,358.57 and the Nasdaq composite added 0.6 per cent to finish at 5,875.14.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May signed the official letter to the European Council President Donald Tusk to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
The letter once delivered to Tusk on Wednesday at 12:30 BST, will then begin the official two-year process of the UK leaving the bloc.
“The triggering of Article 50 is unlikely to create an immediate sea of change,” said Tim Riddell, director at Westpac Institutional Bank, in a Wednesday note.
“This is the start of the beginning of the negotiations. Once initial bargaining position details start to ping between EU and U.K. and are dissected by the media and markets, the enormity of the task ahead may start to weigh confidence and markets,” he explained.
The Scottish parliament on Tuesday backed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s bid for a new independence referendum, to be held in 2018 or 2019.
The proposal was immediately rejected by the by the British government.
Japan’s Keidanren, a business group whose membership includes Toyota, Hitachi and other large Japanese investors in the UK, is preparing a communiqué taking issue with May’s “no Brexit deal is better than a bad deal.”
The pound eased 0.25 per cent at $1.2417 at 10:44 am HK/SIN.
In the broader currency index, the dollar was stronger at 99.72 against a basket of currencies, above yesterday’s lows at 98.858 but still weaker compared to levels above 100 last week.
The dollar/yen was trading at 111.12 and the Australian dollar fetched $0.7645.
Brent crude continued to rise during Asian hours, up 0.19 per cent to $51.43 a barrel, and US crude rose 0.37 per cent to $48.55.
Oil prices jumped more than 1 percent on Tuesday US time, after Libyan supply was cut by a third due to armed faction action.
BBN/SK/AD