South Korea's benchmark Kospi opened 92.97 points, or 1.47%, higher at 6,438.50 on Wednesday, led by gains in major technology stocks. The move came despite losses on Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.32% to 7,728.2, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.6%. Risk sentiment was clouded by worsening pessimism over a possible U.S.-Iran peace deal after the newly appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts Tehran's conditions for ending the war.