Japanese stocks rose on Thursday to snap a four-day losing streak and bouncing from three-week lows, taking heart from Wall Street's rally overnight and as Greece appeared to inch closer to reaching a cash-for-reform deal with its creditors.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index spiked 336.61 points, or 1.7%, to 20,382.97,
Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Thursday after fears of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) spreading to the city eased, but shares were still trading at a 40 percent discount to their mainland-listed peers, the highest level seen in six years.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 220.21 points, or 0.8%, to 26,907.85
The market was knocked in panic selling on Wednesday afternoon on rumours of a possible MERS case in Hong Kong, but sentiment soothed after controller of the Centre for Health Protection Leung Ting-hung told a press briefing on Thursday morning that no confirmed case of MERS has been found in the city so far.
Among the most actively traded stocks on Hong Kong's main board were CCT Land, up 7.3%, SMI Holdings, up 18.2% and Ali Pictures, down 6.3%.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 fell 2.30 points to 5,306.82,
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 5.29 points, or 0.3%, to 2,056.61
In Taiwan, the Taiex inched up 3.99 points to 9,302.49
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 21.90 points, or 0.7%, to 3,347.67
The NZX 50 recouped 54.55 points, or 0.9%, to 5,858.41
The ASX 200 Index climbed 78.02 points, or 1.4%, to 5,556.65.
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