Most Asia-Pacific indices rose in early trade on Wednesday, taking cues from their Wall Street counterparts, which hit new highs led by gains in chip maker shares.
As of 06:49am, the Nikkei 225 was up 203.96 points, or 0.53%, at 38,686.07, and the S&P ASX 200 was down 4.90 points, or 0.06%, at 7,773.20. The KOSPI was up 30.32 points, or 1.10%, at 2,794.24.
A surge in Nvidia Corp. shares pushed the market to new records and the S&P 500 index headed toward the historic 5,500 level for the first time. The index closed up 0.25%. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.03% and 0.15%, respectively, on Tuesday.
Brent crude was up 0.03% at $85.36 per barrel. Gold fell 0.08% to $2,327.64 per ounce.
Foreign investors remained net buyers for the second consecutive day on Tuesday after a day of selling.
At 6:56 am, the BSE Nifty was down 16 points or 0.1% at 23,657.50.
India's benchmark equity indices gained for the fourth consecutive session and closed at record highs on Tuesday, with the financial sector contributing the most. The NSE Nifty 50 closed 92.30 points or 0.39% higher at 23,557.90, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed 308.37 points or 0.40% higher at 77,301.14.
According to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange, foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 2,569.40 crore and domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the second day as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,555.73 crore.
The Indian rupee closed 15 paise higher at 83.41 against the US dollar.