Asian stock markets gained ground Wednesday, after a positive session on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones Industrial close at 18-month highs.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 tacked on 40.88 points, or 0.4%, to 10,815.03
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 20.84 points, or 0.3%, to 21,008.62.
Tech shares rose after gains by their U.S. peers. Kyocera climbed 2.6% and Canon rose 1.7%.
Nintendo soared 8.7% after the video game maker said it plans to launch a new model of its DS handheld game gear that allows users to play 3D games without requiring the use of special glasses.
Mitsubishi Electric rose 1.1% after the company raised its earnings forecast for the year ending this month to a net profit from a previously expected loss on strong demand for its factory automation equipment and auto components.
Teijin rose 3.4% after the Nikkei business daily said the synthetic textile maker it is likely to post an annual operating profit of around 18 billion yen ($200 million U.S.), beating an earlier prediction of 13 billion yen.
Seoul shares closed marginally lower, with market heavy weight Samsung Electronics climbing 1.2% after news of former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee's return to management, but banks and shipbuilders lagged.
In Seoul, shares in Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering lost ground, shedding 4.7% on news that billionaire investor Warren Buffett and other major foreign investors of POSCO, which was expected to bid for the shipyard, had expressed concerns about South Korea's shipbuilding industry.
Analysts said the news was a short-term negative for Daewoo Shipbuilding's share momentum, but bidding interest was expected to strengthen as the industry picks up, with Daewoo is one of the world's major makers of lucrative offshore facilities.
In the banking space, shares of Hana Financial and Woori Financial lost 1.5% each, and KB Financial shed 0.7%.
Australian stocks rose to finish at a two-month peak, led by global miners and healthy gains in retailers and media plays, after U.S. stocks rallied to 18-month highs on upbeat economic data.
Among the top miners, BHP Billiton shares rose 0.7%, while Rival Rio Tinto gained 1.95% as talk of strong price settlements for iron ore grew.
In media, publisher Fairfax Media jumped 2.5% in heavy trade and Southern Cross Media Group rose 4.3%.
Dealers said a big line went through on Fairfax on Tuesday, reflecting a swap, but did not know what was behind the volume on Wednesday.
Retailers outperformed the broader market, with David Jones and Myer advancing 2% each.
Banks were mostly stronger, with Westpac climbing 1.0% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia up 0.9%. National Australia Bank rose just one Australian cent while ANZ shed 0.3%.
Shares in Transurban slumped a four-month low of A$4.84 on news the Future Fund, Australia's sovereign wealth fund, ended talks to back a $4.5-billion U.S. plan by two Canadian pension funds to buy out the toll road operator.
But its shares pared losses to close 1.9% lower after the company said it held discussions with suitors CPPIB and OTPP last week, although no further proposal has been received.
Shares in Hong Kong and China were largely flat at the close but mainland lenders attracted moderate buying interest after better-than-expected earnings from Bank of China.
BOC Hong Kong, a unit of the mainland's Bank of China, gained 2.6% after it reported that its 2009 net profit more than quadrupled.
Among the day's top gainers was Asia Coal, which surged 12.3% after announcing the acquisition of shares in coal miners.
CNOOC rose 0.6%, as the state-owned firm said it would sign a gas supply deal with BG Group.
Southeast Asian shares traded in opposite directions as the Straits Times Index slipped 0.7% while the KL Composite rose 0.4%.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index inched ahead 1.10 points to 3,276.67.
Analysts say the market's recent stability reflects a balance between the positive influence of China's strongly recovering economy and worries over the coming exit from government stimulus measures.
Bank of China's gains gave a lift to most of the 13 other banks listed on the mainland's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, although the extent of the rises and volumes were limited.
Baoshan Iron and Steel fell after a government official said China faced an uphill task to cut 100 million tonnes of outdated steel capacity by the end of next year.
Elsewhere;
Korea’s Kospi index eased 0.81 points to 1,681.01
Singapore’s Straits Times Index sliced off 19.30 points, or 0.7%, to 2,886.36
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 10.84 points, or 0.1%, to 7,822.71
New Zealand’s NZX Index progressed 4.36 points, or 0.1%, to 3,232.72
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 16.70 points, or 0.3%, to 4,891.50
