China

The Chinese stock markets closed up on Wednesday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 17.72 points, or 0.96 pct at 1855.71. The Shenzhen Stock Index gained 21.19 points, or 0.46 pct, to end the day at 4643.17.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 129.3 points, or 0.71 pct, to close at 18,453.65.

Japan

The Topix added 5.09, or 0.3 percent, to 1622.51 at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo after falling as much as 0.6 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 24.13, or 0.2 percent, to 16,375.26, reversing an earlier gain of as much as 0.3 percent.

Australian

The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 32.0, or 0.6 percent, to 5416.40 at the 4:10 p.m. close in Sydney. About 13 stocks advanced for every six that fell. Measures of raw-materials producers and finance stocks, which together make up two-thirds of the benchmark, were the biggest contributors to the gain.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index's futures contract for December rose 0.7 percent to 5398. The broader All Ordinaries Index added 0.6 percent to 5383.60.