U.S. government sources told Reuters on Wednesday that China had sent a response to U.S. demands for trade reform but gave no further details, raising hopes the two sides could resume negotiations to end their trade war. [MKTS/GLOB]

The progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks was offering some support to regional markets, said Liu Jinshu, director of research, NRA Capital.

"We probably will see the market drift higher over the next couple of days as the G20 meeting approaches," he said, adding that traders were talking about "odds of some form of compromise" being achieved when U.S. President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping meets later this month.

Indonesian shares <.JKSE> led the gains in Southeast Asia with a 1.7 percent jump, marking their third straight winning session.

Telecom and consumer staples stocks were the top gainers with index heavyweight Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) PT rising 4.3 percent, while conglomerate Unilever Indonesia Tbk climbed 2.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the central bank surprisingly raised its benchmark interest rate for the sixth time this year, moving ahead of any further U.S. rate hike in a bid to lower its yawning current-account deficit.

Earlier in the day, the country surprisingly posted a larger-than-expected trade deficit in October, as sluggish export growth failed to cover surging import bills.

However, exports rose 3.59 percent to $15.80 billion, higher than a 1.81 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll.

Philippine shares <.PSI> edged higher, driven by gains in financials. BDO Unibank Inc and Bank of the Philippine Islands jumped 3 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, its fifth hike this year, saying further policy tightening was needed to curb inflationary pressures.

Singapore shares <.STI> snapped four straight sessions of declines, with conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd climbing 2.2 percent, while CapitaLand Ltd rose 1.3 percent.

Bucking the trend, Thai shares <.SETI> fell 0.8 percent, dragged by losses in consumer staples and telecommunication services stocks.

Digital life service provider Advanced Info Service PCL slipped 1.9 percent, while glass container manufacturer Berli Jucker PCL plunged 9.8 percent.

(Reporting by Aman Swami; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

By Aman Swami