Indian stocks rose on Wednesday on the back of fresh gains in blue-chips like Reliance Industries, ITC and Infosys.
Stocks in Seoul fell as investors considered the latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch from North Korea. Bitcoin surpassed $10,000 for the first time, bringing this year's price surge to more than 10-fold.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up just a fraction, while China's blue chip index eased 0.5 percent.
At 0610 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.15 percent at 33,667 while the broader NSE Nifty edged up 0.17 percent to 10,387.
Among the top Sensex gainers, Coal India rose 2 percent, Dr. Reddy's advanced 0.9 percent, Bajaj Auto rose 0.8 percent while Tata Motors shot up 0.9 percent.
The S&P BSE Healthcare Index gained 0.7 percent and was among the top sectoral gainers.
Reliance Communications added 2.3 percent after the company said it entered into a binding share purchase agreement with Pantel Technologies to sell 100 percent of its DTH business.
IL&FS Engineering and Constriction jumped 5 percent after the company swung to a profit in September quarter.
But Nestle India lost about 1 percent after the Uttar Pradesh authorities slapped a fine on Nestle India and its distributors after its popular noodles brand Maggi allegedly failed to pass the lab test.
Walchandnagar Industries declined 2.5 percent after the company posted a loss of Rs 13 crore in the September quarter.
Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.
