Asian shares rose modestly on Wednesday after overnight gains on Wall Street as geopolitical risks and turmoil at the White House abated while investors eyed the annual gathering of central bankers.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 per cent to 19,472.30 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 per cent to 2,366.86. But Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.1 per cent to 3,286.56.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 per cent to 5,727.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was closed due to a typhoon.
US stocks finished higher on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 24.14 points, or 1.0 per cent, to 2,452.51 for its fourth-biggest gain of the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 196.14 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 21,899.89 on Tuesday, and the Nasdaq composite gained 84.35, or 1.4 per cent, to 6,297.48.
Benchmark US crude lost 13 cents to $47.70 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 30 cents to settle at $47.83 per barrel on Tuesday.
Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 19 cents to $51.68 per barrel in London. It gained 21 cents to settle at $51.87 a barrel in the previous session.
The dollar slipped to 109.44 Japanese yen from 109.57 yen. The euro rose to $1.1764 from $1.1762, reports AP.