Asia stocks ended mixed in quiet trade on Wednesday following a sharp rally on Wall Street and higher oil prices.
Markets in Japan were off for a national holiday.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong hiked 210.57 points, or 1%, to 22,040.59
Quiet trade is expected over the days leading into Christmas. Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines will be open for a half-day on Thursday while Japan and China will be the only major markets open on Friday.
In Hong Kong, oil plays led the gains. Petrochina, Sinopec and CNOOC rose more than 3% each.
In Australia, the local dollar was flat against the greenback, well off a one-month low of $0.7097 hit last week.
Miners rallied as iron ore prices trade above $40 U.S. a ton. Fortescue Metals hiked 3%, while Rio Tinto jumped 4% while BHP Billiton rose more than 3% despite news that it will release the findings of a law firm hired to determine the cause of a dam burst at one of its Brazilian mines.
South Korea's Kospi was supported by steelmakers. Posco gained 3.5% while Hyundai Steel ended 5.7% higher.
Index heavyweights Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors both lost over 1% on news both automakers will buy stakes in affiliate firm Hyundai Capital from General Electric for a combined $600 million U.S.
New Zealand's benchmark hit a fresh record high, eclipsing its previous record of 6,162 hit earlier this month.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai dropped 10.35 points, or 0.3%, to 3,866.38
Headlines from the China's Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), an annual meeting of Communist Party leaders, also boosted sentiment. Officials hinted at additional monetary and fiscal easing in early 2016 and announced several reforms, including increasing the fiscal deficit ratio, reducing industrial overcapacity and easing property oversupply.
But analysts questioned whether the increased fiscal and monetary support will be enough to lift slowing economic growth.
The yuan strengthened to 6.4780 per U.S. dollar, weaker than the central bank's mid-point rate of 6.4731.
Brokerages rallied sharply; Haitong Securities moved up 3%, while CITIC Securities shot up 6%.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 10.68 points, or 0.4%, to 2,863.65
The Kospi index in Korea gained 6.66 points, or 0.3%, to 1,999.22
Taiwan’s Taiex index gained 22.96 points, or 0.3%, to 8,315.70
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 acquired 47.37 points, or 0.8%, to 6,195.34
The ASX 200 climbed 25.09 points, or 0.5%, to 5,141.78
