Japan stock indexes retreated from record highs Thursday, while investors assessed better-than-expected trade data from China.
The Nikkei 225 hit a record high before closing 1.2% lower and below the 40,000 mark at 39,598.71. The broader Topix lost 0.4% ending at 2,718.54, also after hitting a record high earlier in the session.
The Taiwan weighted index jumped over 1%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.39% to end at 7,763.7, both scaling new peaks.
Asia stocks rose following comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who reiterated his stance that while the central bank could start cutting rates, it was "not immediately ready."
China CSI 300 index fell 0.6% to 3,529.72, while the Hang Seng index fell 1.4%. China's dollar-denominated exports jumped 7.1% year on year for the first two months of the year, according to official data. It was much higher than a Reuters poll expectation of a 1.9% rise.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com spiked over 8% after it released better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and announced a share buyback plan of up to $3 billion, including American depository shares.
South Korea's Kospi extended ended with a 0.2% rise at 2,647.62, while the Kosdaq lost 0.8%, last at 863.37.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes regained ground after two straight days of declines, although some names like Apple, Alphabet and Disney sat out of the rally.
The S&P 500 added 0.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.58%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher by 0.2%, although the blue-chip average was weighed down by a drop of more than 2% in Disney.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.