Japan's Nikkei index closed higher on Wednesday, supported by technology stocks tracking their U.S. counterparts and improved market sentiment on renewed hopes for China's stimulus plans.
Shares of Seven & I Holdings, the owner of 7-Eleven and a target of a takeover bid, jumped after a media report of an improved offer.
The Nikkei rose 0.87 percent to end the day's trading at 39,277.96 points. Chip and technology companies led the gainers.
The broader Topix index also rose 0.3 percent, with the sub-index of fast-growing companies rising 0.85 percent, but value stocks fell 0.23 percent.
Japanese stocks opened higher on Wednesday but momentum eased through the session before receiving a boost midway through the afternoon session from Beijing's announcement that the finance ministry would release details of its fiscal stimulus plans on Saturday.
Shares of Seven & I, which is fighting a takeover bid from Alimentacion Couche-Tar, owner of Circle K, jumped as much as 11.77 percent after Bloomberg reported the Canadian retailer was preparing to sweeten the offer to $47 billion. The stock ended the day up 4.71 percent.
Seven & I confirmed that it received an improved offer after the close of trading.
Fast Retailing rose 1.14 percent, the second-biggest gainer on the Nikkei index on Wednesday, largely due to its very large weighting in the index.
Advantest, a supplier to Nvidia, was the top gainer, up 3.65 percent.
The remaining top five spots were taken by Tokyo Electron, Recruit Holdings and SoftBank Group.
But energy companies led the losses amid a slide in crude oil prices. Refining company Inpex Corp was the worst performer among Nikkei-listed stocks, down 3.04 percent, while Idemitsu Kosan Co lost 2.58 percent.
