-- Japanese stocks edged lower at Wednesday's open as investors balanced cautious optimism with renewed anxieties about the Middle East.
The Nikkei fell 245.1 points, or 0.4%, to open at 59,104.11.
U.S. President Donald Trump extended the Iran ceasefire indefinitely a day before its expiration despite collapsed talks, saying the U.S. would refrain from new strikes but keep its blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, various reports said.
At home, Japan's trade surplus widened to nearly 667 billion yen in March from 529.8 billion yen a year earlier, driven by a jump in exports to its two largest trading partners - the U.S. and China.
Meanwhile, exports to the Middle East plunged 45.9% and imports from the region fell 10.7%, as the Iran war effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for Japan's oil imports.