Asia markets rose on Wednesday, taking overnight cues from Wall Street where stocks rose to record highs after a rally in tech names lifted the broader market. Hong Kong's main index topped the 30,000 level at market open.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 vaulted 106.67 points, or 0.5%, to 22,523.15
The Hang Seng Index perked 185.42 points, or 0.6%, to 30,003.49
Among currency majors, the Japanese yen traded at 112.05 to the U.S. dollar, which was slightly stronger than the 112.6 level it traded near on Tuesday afternoon local time.
Japanese exporters were mostly higher; shares of Toyota rose 0.7%, Honda was up 0.4% and Sony added 1.3%.
Inpex shares rose 1.5% and Japan Petroleum added 2.5%
Elsewhere, shares of Japanese multinational electronics company TDK rose 5.9%, following reports that it introduced a rechargeable solid-state battery overnight.
Fair Australia advanced, with most sectors advancing. The energy sub-index was up 1.2% and the materials sector rose 0.8%. The heavily-weighted financial sub-index gained 0.2% even as three of the country's so-called Big Four banks fell.
Shares of ANZ fell 0.3%, Westpac was off by 0.4% and the National Australia Bank lost 0.3%. Commonwealth Bank shares, however, were up 0.6%
Oil plays in Australia were mostly higher with Santos shares rising 1.2%, Oil Search up by 1.3% and Woodside Petroleum positive by 1.5%
The Australian dollar traded at $0.7572 U.S.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 added 9.87 points, or 0.2%, to 4,227.57
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 9.87 points, or 0.2%, to 2,540.51
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index climbed 43.35 points, or 0.4%, to 10,822.59
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved higher 6.64 points, or 0.2%, to 3,430.02
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 16.51 points, or 0.2%, to 8,104.99
In Australia, the ASX 200 added 22.89 points, or 0.4%, to 5,986.41
