Hong Kong - Asian markets saw a mild bounce on Thursday after suffering heavy selling pressure this week, but traders remained on edge ahead of a possible military strike on Syria.
The dollar also benefited as fears eased over the impact of an attack on the Middle Eastern country, which is accused of using chemical weapons on its own people.
India's rupee was slightly off record lows touched Wednesday as investors fretted over the country's stuttering economy as well as the future of the US Federal Reserve's stimulus programme.
Tokyo rose 0.91 percent, or 121.25 points, to 13 459.71, while Sydney added 0.10%, or 5.2 points, to close at 5 092.4 and Seoul advanced 1.22%, or 23.02 points, to 1 907.54.
And in the afternoon Hong Kong added 0.49% while Shanghai was flat.
Buying sentiment was given a boost by a rally on Wall Street, which ended three days of losses, as energy companies benefited from a surge in oil prices.
The Dow rose 0.34%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.29% and the Nasdaq added 0.41%.
US President Barack Obama, who had warned the use of chemical weapons by Syria would cross a "red line", said Washington had definitively concluded that the Assad regime was to blame for last week's attack that killed hundreds of people.
However, he said Wednesday he had not yet decided whether to strike.
His comments, which were more cautious than recent statements, come as political uproar in London cast doubt on whether Britain would join any such action.
Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires: "Excessive risk aversion is unwinding."
Anxiety about Syria initially caused the dollar to weaken earlier this week as investors bought alternative safe-haven currencies including the Swiss franc and yen.
"I think the general feeling is that the United States won't be as heavily involved in Syria as it was when it invaded Iraq back in 2003," he said.
Crude prices edged lower after surging Wednesday on fears of a supply shortage in the oil-rich Middle East caused by any military intervention.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, was down $1.26 at $108.84 a barrel after spiking at a two-year high of $112.24 the previous day.
Brent North Sea crude for October shed $1.45 to $115.16. The contract peaked at a six-month high of $117.34 Wednesday.
Thursday's pick-up also provided some respite for stocks in emerging markets, which have been hammered in recent weeks on expectations of an end to the Fed's stimulus, which has fuelled an investment splurge in the region over the past year.
Jakarta was up 0.73%, and Kuala Lumpur climbed 1.02%. Manila surged more than three percent after data showed the Philippine economy expanded 7.5% year on year in the April-June quarter.
The Indian rupee was also better off, sitting at 67.70/$ after hitting 69.22 Wednesday. However, the unit remained strained owing to ongoing troubles in the domestic economy.
The dollar bought ¥97.87, compared with ¥97.72 in New York and well up from the low ¥97 levels in Tokyo Wednesday.
The euro fetched $1.3284 and ¥130.02 compared with $1.3341 and ¥130.36.
Gold cost $1 410.60 an ounce, near a three-month high, at 08:40, up from $1 422.90 late Wednesday.
In other markets:
-- Taipei added 1.19%, or 93.12 points, to 7 917.66.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gained 1.96% to Tw$98.7 while Hon Hai Precision was 0.63% higher at Tw$79.8.
-- Wellington rose 0.24%, or 10.79 points, to 4 520.50.
Air New Zealand added 1.46% to NZ$1.39, Telecom climbed 1.82% to NZ$2.24 and The Warehouse was down 1.03% at NZ$3.84.