Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday morning as the oversold market saw buying across all sectors, with the sentiment helped by China's efforts to stabilise its currency, even as oil fell below $30 a barrel.
The Nikkei share average rose 2.7 per cent to end the morning session at 17,682.33, putting the benchmark index on track for its first gains of 2016.
"The market was massively oversold by the end of trading yesterday, so it's no surprise that we're seeing a snap back," said Nicholas Smith, a strategist at CLSA.
"We've seen a state of panic recently, and now that people are coming around to the view that things aren't really all that bad investors are snapping up these oversold low price to book stocks, which are roaring today."
As the Nikkei bounced, the yen shed some of its strength against the dollar, giving some extra lift to the share prices of major exporters.
Pioneer Corp shares jumped 5.3 per cent, while Panasonic Corp climbed 2.1 per cent and Toyota Motor Corp rose 3.6 per cent. Bridgestone Corp soared 5 per cent.
Tokyo Disney resort operator Oriental Land Co saw its shares climb 4.8 per cent after the Nikkei business daily reported the company likely booked an operating profit of around 90 billion yen ($762.39 million) for the nine-month period through December.
Condiment maker Kewpie Corp bucked the morning session's strength, falling 2.6 per cent after Mizuho Securities cut its stock's rating to 'neutral' from 'buy,' citing concerns over its China business.
The broader Topix rose 2.8 per cent to 1,441.39 with each of its 33 subindexes in positive territory.
The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 2.8 per cent to 12,975.64.
($1 = 118.0500 yen)