Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.98% while the Topix index rose 1.1%. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 1.38%.
Australian stocks also rose as the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.85%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.35% higher.
Overnight stateside, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.52% to 15,704.28 while the S&P 500 advanced slightly to 4,649.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, declining 158.71 points to 35,921.23.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 95.246 following its jump earlier this week from below 94.4.
The Japanese yen traded at 114.24 per dollar, struggling to recover after weakening from below 113.5 against the greenback earlier in the week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7283, still off levels above $0.738 seen earlier this week.
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.75% to $82.25 per barrel. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.76% to $80.97 per barrel.