Overnight, Wall Street made a stunning recovery, following six consecutive days of declines that pushed the major averages into correction territory.
The Nasdaq Composite led gains with a rise of 4.24 percent, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 climbed 3.95 and 3.90 percent, respectively. The S&P 500 emerged out of correction territory on Wednesday, after sinking into correction during Monday's selloff.
Nikkei leaps 1.8%
Equity markets in Japan outperformed in early trade, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumping amid a broad-based rally, while the Topix index surged 2.4 percent.
Export-oriented stocks attracted hefty buy orders; Toyota Motor led gains among the carmakers, up 3.5 percent, while Sony, Panasonic and Canon elevated between 1.9 and 4.5 percent.
Banks and index heavyweights also propelled the bourse higher. SoftBank and Fanuc charged 3.3 and 1.2 percent, respectively, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 3.3 and 2.8 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) 2 percent inflation target can be achieved by next year despite the continued drop in global oil prices, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said during a speech in New York. It is "far from the case" that the central bank will fail to meet its target, Kuroda added.
The Japanese central bank expects to inflation to hit 2 percent during the April-September first half of next fiscal year, but many analysts see the goal as a tall order.
ASX rises 1.5%
Australia's S&P ASX 200 index widened gains rapidly within minutes after the market open, supported by a pick-up in buying across a majority of sectors.
Australia and New Zealand Banking and National Australia Bank bounced up more than 2 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac leaped 1.6 and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Oil counters took the cues from their U.S. counterparts to rise; Woodside Petroleum and Santos rose more than 3 percent each, while Oil Search advanced 2.6 percent.
However, producers of the precious metal surrendered gains after gold slipped 2 percent overnight amid a stronger dollar. Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining tumbled 5.5 and 2.1 percent, respectively.
Kospi gains 0.9%
South Korea's Kospi index notched up to a one-week high, a day after posting its biggest single-day rise in two years.
Among gainers, SK Hynix opened up 3.3 percent, while consumer discretionary plays such as AmorePacific and LG Household & Healthcare advanced 3.6 and 2.5 percent, respectively.
However, a mixed performance among other key sectors limited the bourse advances. Blue chip stocks such as Posco fell 1.4 percent, while refiners SK Innovation and S-Oil eased 0.2 and 0.9 percent, respectively.
Rest of Asia
Tracking the upbeat sentiment in the region, Taiwan's weighted index and Singapore's Straits Times index opened up more than 1 percent each.
Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index edged up 0.3 percent in early trade.
Meanwhile, the Philippines releases second-quarter GDP on Thursday, which is expected to gather pace after growth slowed to a three-year low in the first three months of 2015. The economy is estimated to expand 6.8 percent year-on-year in the June quarter, according to forecasts from Moody's Analytics, accelerating from the first quarter's 5.2 percent gain.
"Stronger government spending, thanks to delayed stimulus getting underway, likely lifted investment and household consumption. This boost will continue through the second half of 2015. Exports improved modestly with stronger global tech demand," analysts wrote.