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Hong Kong - Asian markets enjoyed a healthy rally on Wednesday following positive manufacturing data from the United States and Europe, while Tokyo was also boosted as the dollar pushed towards the ¥104 level.
Traders were given a strong lead from New York, where the S&P 500 closed at another record high, while attention turns to the release Friday of a closely watched US jobs report.
Tokyo climbed 1.04%, or 154 points, to close at 14 946 Seoul rose 0.26%, or 5.27 points, to close at 1 997 and Sydney added 0.26%, or 14.1 points, to close at 5 403.
Hong Kong was 0.34% higher, adding 74.50 points to 22 524, while Shanghai put on 0.56%, or 11.53 points, to 2 059.
Global shares
Global shares broadly swung up on Tuesday following the release of upbeat reports on manufacturing in China, Europe and the United States.
Beijing said at the start of the trading day that its official purchasing managers index (PMI) had ticked up in March after hitting an eight-month low in February, beating expectations.
Markit Economics said its eurozone PMI for March stood at 53.0. The figure is down from February's 53.2, but the average reading over the first quarter as a whole was 53.4, which it said was the "the best outcome since the second quarter of 2011".
A reading above 50 denotes expansion while anything below points to contraction.
Supply management
Later, the US Institute for Supply Management said its PMI hit 53.7 from 53.2 the previous month. ISM also said comments from businesses surveyed "reflect favourable demand and good business conditions".
Wall Street surged on the upbeat numbers. The S&P 500 jumped 0.70% to its first record close since March 7, while the Dow added 0.46% and the Nasdaq climbed 1.64%.
On forex markets, the euro sat at $1.3800 compared with $1.3793 late in New York, while it also bought ¥143.24, up from ¥142.98.
The euro's move higher came before the European Central Bank reviews its interest rates policy on Thursday, with earlier expectations receding of a move to ease rates to address low inflation.
The dollar rose to 103.93 yen at one point before easing a tad to sit at ¥103.79, against ¥103.66 in New York as investors grow more confident about higher-risk assets - in turn moving out of safer bets such as the Japanese currency.
"If (Friday's jobs data) beat the market forecast, the dollar may start rising toward ¥105," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief strategist at Praevidentia Strategy.
Investors will be closely watching the payrolls report for a better handle on the state of the US economy following weak readings at the start of the year caused by severe cold across much of the country.
Oil prices edged higher. New York's West Texas Intermediate for May delivery rose two cents to $99.39 76 a barrel in afternoon trade, and Brent North Sea crude for May was up 14 cents at $105.76.
Gold fetched $1 283 an ounce at 10:34 GMT compared with $1 284.41 late Tuesday.
In other markets:
Taipei rose 0.36%, or 32.30 points, to 8 905.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.42% higher at Tw$120.0 while leading chip design house MediaTek added 0.76% to Tw$467.0.
Wellington drifted 0.12%, or 6.21 points, to 5 116.
Air New Zealand slipped 1.7% to NZ$1.135, while Telecom gained 1.03% to NZ$2.45.
Manila jumped 1.12%, or 73.00 points, to 6 588.
Megaworld rose 3.94% to 4.49 pesos while JG Summit Holdings was up 0.71% at 49.85 pesos.
Bangkok rose 0.66% or 9.14 points to 1 397.
Airports of Thailand added 2.07% to 197.50 baht, while Siam Cement gained 0.96% to 422.00 baht.
Jakarta ended down 0.08%, or 3.73 points, at 4 870.
Cement maker Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa jumped 0.42% to 23 900 rupiah, while state miner Aneka Tambang fell 0.44% to 1 140 rupiah.
Kuala Lumpur's main stock index was up to 1 852.00, gaining 4.24 points or 0.23%.
SapuraKencana Petroleum ended 2.6% higher at 4.68 ringgit, while Genting Malaysia added 1.4% to 4.22. Tenaga Nasional fell 1.8% to 11.74 ringgit.
Singapore dipped 0.18%, or 5.74 points, to close at 3 193.
Singapore Telecommunications eased 0.27% to Sg$3.64 while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.42% to Sg$9.60.
Mumbai rose 0.47% or 105.05 points to close at 22 551.
Wockhardt surged 20% to 552.00 rupees, while Jet Airways jumped 14.14% to 278.85 rupees.
