BEIJING -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.34 percent, at 2,836.80 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.23 percent lower at 10,682.70 points.

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TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Wednesday in choppy trade, as continued hopes for increased economic activity in Japan and other countries where coronavirus pandemic restrictions have been eased, bolstered risk appetite.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 148.06 points, or 0.70 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 21,419.23.

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MUMBAI -- Indian markets closed higher on Wednesday, propelled by banks and financials, ahead of the upcoming derivative contract expiry.

The benchmark S&P, BSE Sensex closed at 31,605.22, 995.92 points or 3.25 percent up compared to its previous close at 30,609.30.

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KUALA LUMPUR -- The Malaysian stock market ended higher here on Wednesday.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was at 1,451.73 up 14.97 points or 1.04 percent, and the Emas was at 10,303.82 up 126.70 points or 1.24 percent.

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JAKARTA -- The IDX Composite, an index of all stocks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in Jakarta, closed at 4,641.56 points on Wednesday, up by 14.76 points, or 0.32 percent against that on the previous trading day.

Approximately 7.69 billion shares worth more than 8.24 trillion Indonesian rupiahs (about 558.53 million U.S. dollars) changed hands at the stock market.

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SINGAPORE -- Singapore stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) going down 0.43 percent, or 10.82 points, to close at 2,519.48.

The STI index went up 1.22 percent, or 30.47 points, to close at 2,530.30 on Tuesday.

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HANOI -- Stock market index of Vietnam's capital Hanoi, HNX-Index, closed at 108.89 points on Wednesday, down 1.60 points or 1.45 percent from the previous trading session.

Prices of 64 stocks went up, 91 stocks dropped, while 207 stocks remained unchanged.

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HONG KONG -- Hong Kong stocks closed down 83.30 points, or 0.36 percent, to 23,301.36 points on Wednesday.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index traded between 23,134.61 and 23,515.14. Turnover totaled 110.88 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 14.31 billion U.S. dollars).

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PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia's stocks finished higher on Wednesday, with the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) Index up 49.13 points, or 7.11 percent, to close at 739.92.

A total of 303,930 shares worth 5.1 billion riels (1.24 million U.S. dollars) was traded, the CSX said, adding that 82 percent of the traded shares belonged to the ACLEDA Bank.

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YANGON -- Myanmar's stock market closed on Wednesday with a slight increase of 2.44 percent or 10.88 points, compared to the previous trading day, said figures by the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX).

The Myanmar Stock Price Index (MYANPIX) reached 457.23 points after closure, up from 446.35 points on Tuesday.

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WELLINGTON -- New Zealand stock market's indicator, the S&P/NZX 50 index, jumped by 1.22 percent to 11,049 on Wednesday.

The jump was led by SeaDragon Limited, which went up by 22.22 percent to 0.055 NZ dollars (0.034 U.S. dollars), while PaySauce Limited dropped by 4.55 percent to 0.42 NZ dollars.

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SEOUL -- South Korean shares ended slightly higher Wednesday.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 1.42 points, or 0.07 percent, to settle at 2,031.20. Trading volume stood at 1.16 billion shares 12.5 trillion won (10.1 billion U.S. dollars).

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MANILA -- Philippine shares closed 0.49 percent higher on Wednesday.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index increased by 26.95 points to 5,523.78. The all-share index went up by 16.10 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,329.12.