Volumes have been very light at the moment, but that has seemingly been positive news for markets across the region, said the market analyst from IG in Melbourne.
Asian shares glided higher in early trading on Wednesday, taking their cues from overseas gains, although investors are cautiously watching to see whether renewed selling in crude oil futures will dent sentiment.
"After a strong US and European session, Asian markets are all looking for further gains on Wednesday," Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne, said in a note to clients.
"Volumes have been very light at the moment, but that has seemingly been positive news for markets across the region," he said.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3%, on track for a monthly gain of 0.4% though down nearly 12% for the year. Australian shares were up 0.9%.
On Wall Street, major US indexes each gained more than 1%. All 10 major S&P sectors ended with gains, led by a 1.34% rise in the technology sector, which lifted the S&P 500 to a modest increase for the year.
Japan's Nikkei was up 0.6%, poised to gain over 9% for the year, though down more than 3% for December.
US crude futures began Asian trading under pressure, and were last down 1.7% at $37.23 (nearly Rs 2,472.44 ) .
US crude and Brent jumped 3% overnight, taking back the ground lost in the previous session as colder weather forecasts raised expectations of more demand.
But weekly data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a rise of almost 3 million barrels in US crude inventories, defying expectations of no change and rekindling fears of a supply glut.
Higher US Treasury yields underpinned the dollar.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes stood at 2.299% in early Asian trade, compared with its US close of 2.307% on Tuesday.
The yield on the US two-year note closed at 1.095% on Tuesday after earlier touching its highest level since April 2010.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, was up 0.1% at 98.196.
The index rose to nearly a one-week high of 98.413 on Tuesday, from a nearly two-week low earlier in the session. It is up 8.8% for the year, though down nearly 2% for the month as investors pare their dollar-long positions after the US Federal Reserve's widely anticipated interest rate increase earlier in December.
The dollar edged up slightly to 120.50 yen (nearly Rs 66.41), while the euro edged up 0.1% to $1.0930 (nearly Rs 72.59) .
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