South Korea's Kospi index surged as much as 1.5% to reach a new record high, boosted by strength in major chipmakers. Oil prices declined following the signing of a provisional peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran on Wednesday.

SK Hynix Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd contributed the most significant gains to the index, rising as much as 5.9% and 2.5% during the session, respectively.

Foreign and domestic institutional funds were net sellers of Kospi constituent stocks, while retail investors were net buyers.

The small-cap-focused Kosdaq index fell as much as 3.1% during the trading day.