Asia markets were mixed on Wednesday afternoon after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit another record high on Wall Street overnight as trade fears eased.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 34.75 points, or 0.2%, to 22,848.22. The country's shipping sector extended its gains from the previous day by 2.9%.
The Japanese yen remained largely flat against the dollar at 111.21 yen
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 64.82 points, or 0.2%, to 28,416.44, even as the information technology sector fell around 1.1%.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland arrived in Washington on Tuesday to resume talks about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a day after the U.S. and Mexico announced that they had agreed to a new trade deal.
Australian markets improved after trading largely flat in the earlier part of the day. Construction materials and building products supplier Boral's stock ended the trading day up by 10.1% on the back of news that its full year net profit after tax rose 48.5% to A$441 million ($324 million U.S.).
The Australian dollar was down by 0.4% at $0.7305 U.S.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 13.6 points, or 0.4%, to 3,386.57
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index fell 3.63 points, or 0.1%, to 3,243.92
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 5.91 points, or 0.3%, to 2,309.03
In Taiwan, the Taiex index vaulted 110.02 points, or 1%, to 11,099.57
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 148.65 points, or 1.6%, to 9,362.67
In Australia, the ASX 200 jumped 46.67 points, or 0.8%, to 6,303.95
