Asian stock markets largely gained ground Wednesday on sustained tech-sector optimism, boosted in part by record Q3 profits reported by South Korea's chip manufacturers.
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, while Seoul's semiconductor-laden KOSPI Index rose 6.6%.
Countering positive sentiments, Brent crude futures rose 1.5% to $110.80 a barrel, during Asian market hours.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and held ground, finishing up 1.1% on strength in AI- and semiconductor-related issues.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 685.82 to 63,954.19, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 139 to 84, as gains were concentrated in the tech sector.
Leading the upside was memory-chip maker Kioxia, up 13.8%, while video-game maker Capcom declined 12.4%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and tracked higher, closing up 0.2%.
The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 53.51 to 23,094.83, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 56 to 37. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.3%.
Leading the upside was Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor, gaining 8.4%, while New Oriental Education & Technology declined 7.3%.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.9% to 3,681.47.
In Seoul, semiconductor-manufacturer SK Hynix (SKHY) traded up 7.7% after reporting Q3 results, while Samsung Electronics shares gained 9% after company subsidiaries reported strong quarterly profits.
On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE inclined 2%; the Australian ASX 200 was flat; the Singapore Straits Times Index was steady, and the Thai Set declined 0.6%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.5%.
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 1.4% on the day.
