Ahead of the holiday-shortened week, China indexes struggled to advance in thin trading. China's inflationary pressure eased in January amid persistent demand growth weakness.
Japan's benchmark indexes advanced for the second consecutive session on Tuesday and scaled new record highs following Prime Minister Takaichi's historic win in Sunday's general election.
China and other Asian markets traded higher, tracking gains in New York in overnight trading. The initial public offerings continued to attract foreign investors in Hong Kong.
Japan's software services providers led the broader market downturn on Wednesday's trading. The yen continued to drift lower as the post-election fiscal expansion weighed on the market sentiment.
Japan's indexes dropped for the second consecutive day, and the yen extended its 4-day advance to 2% despite the U.S. dollar dropping to a four-year low against the euro and the pound.
Three companies listed their stocks on exchanges in China and Hong Kong amid strong investor demand. Busy Ming Group, China's largest retailer of snacks and beverages, soared 90% in its Hong Kong listing.
The yen rebounded amid growing speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan are preparing for a joint intervention in the foreign exchange market.
China indexes struggled to advance, the offshore yuan retained an upward bias, and gold and silver reached new record highs as investors rotated out of the U.S. dollar-denominated assets.
