SYDNEY, NSW, Australia – Stocks in China and Hong Kong sank on Wednesday, while in Japan and Australia the major indices closed higher.

The Australian All Ords advanced 14.80 points or 0.21 percent to 6,953.90.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 292.25 points or 1.04 percent to 28,456.59.

The U.S. dollar remained under pressure during the Asian trading zone. The euro traded at 1.2214 late in Sydney trading Wednesday.

The British pound was solid at 1.3673. The Japanese yen was in demand at 103.69. The Swiss franc firmed to 0.8858.

The Canadian dollar was higher at 1.2718. The Australian and New Zealand dollars both retreated a few points to 0.7766 and 0.7223 respectively.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials advanced 60.00 points or 0.19 percent to 31,068.69.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 added 1.58 points or 0.04 percent to 3,801.19.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 31.00 points or 0.28 percent to 13,072.43.