Asian markets gained on Wednesday with Japanese stocks leading the boost as financials such as Mizuho Financial Group spiked after an equity offer from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The Nikkei 225 Average gained 3.2 percent to 13,065.72 and the broader Topix index jumped 3.4 percent to 1,271.73. The Hang Seng Index ended 1.3 percent higher at 23,137.46 on Tuesday.

In Tokyo, shares of Mizuho surged 7.4 percent while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 5.7 percent, and in Sydney, Macquarie Group stock jumped 8.7 percent.

In Asian currency trading, the dollar was quoted at 101.75 yen compared with 101.85 yen in New York late Tuesday and 99.64 yen late Monday.

Crude oil for May delivery lost as much as 13 cents to $100.85 a barrel in electronic trading, after gaining 60 cents to settle at $100.98 a barrel in regular trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.

U.S. indexes closed higher on Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending 391.47 points higher, making its eighth-biggest point jump ever. The S&P 500 index gained 47.48 points, while the Nasdaq Composite added 83.65 points to close at 2,362.75 for the beginning of the second quarter.

HANG SENG INDEX Nikkei 225