Singapore's benchmark Straits Times index <.STI> rose as much as 0.9 percent to its highest since August 10, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record closing high overnight as investors remained upbeat on trade-sensitive companies following a North American trade deal. [.N]

The city-state's top lenders, DBS Group Holdings and United Overseas Bank, lifted the market, gaining 1.2 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Indonesian shares <.JKSE> dropped 0.3 percent, a day after the rupiah slid to a 20-year low.

The index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks <.JKLQ45> declined 0.4 percent in the session.

Bank Indonesia has intervened in the currency market and will maintain its presence to stabilise the rupiah, deputy governor Dody Budi Waluyo told Reuters on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Indonesia's finance minister said Southeast Asia's largest economy was adjusting "quite well" to higher U.S. interest rates and the fall of the rupiah.

Philippine shares edged higher after a 2.6 percent slump spread across the last three sessions. Real estate companies SM Prime Holdings gained 1.3 percent and Ayala Land rose 0.8 percent on Wednesday.

(Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)

By Niyati Shetty