BANGKOK - MOST Asian stock markets clawed higher on Wednesday after data showed the region's two biggest economies are inching toward economic recovery.

Investors seemed to brush off an overnight drop on Wall Street, where stocks were dragged down by an unexpected drop in U.S. consumer confidence. Many were counting on Thursday's release of U.S. jobs data for signals on whether recovery hopes are justified after a three-month rally in global markets.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 97.04 points, or 1 per cent, to 10,055.48 and South Korea's Kospi gained 1.8 percent to 1,414.56.

Hong Kong's market was closed for a public holiday.

Elsewhere, Australia's main index fell 1.8 per cent, while Taiwan's index jumped 2.2 per cent a day after the island's government announced it had opened key parts of the manufacturing and services sectors to Chinese investment.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index added to its huge rally, climbing 1 percent to 2,989.54. For the first half of the year that ended Tuesday, the index surged 62.5 per cent.

Chinese manufacturing expanded in June, two surveys showed, adding to signs the world's third-largest economy is rebounding from the collapse in global trade, even though few new jobs were created.

Brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said its purchasing managers index rose to 51.8 from May's 51.2 on a 100-point scale where numbers above 50 show activity expanding. The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its own PMI edged up slightly to 53.2 from May's 53.1.

In Tokyo, the central bank's 'tankan' survey reflected a slight uptick in gloomy corporate sentiment, suggesting the world's second-largest economy is crawling rather than sprinting out of recession.

The most-watched index of the quarterly survey, which measures confidence at major manufacturers, rose to minus 48 from minus 58 in March, its worst reading ever. The figure represents the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good minus those saying conditions are unfavorable. The lower the number, the greater the pessimism.

The results were a bit worse than expectations, but still fell within tolerable levels and pointed toward a gradual economic recovery. Industrial production in Japan has bounced back in recent months after tumbling earlier this year. -- AP