Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.8% to close at 39958.87 amid risk-on sentiment. "Equities worldwide continued to ride on the wave of U.S.' AI investment announcement, as well as blowout earnings from streaming giant Netflix,

Netflix shares moved firmly higher in early Wednesday trading, and look set to pass the $1,000 mark for the first time on record, following a blowout set of fourth quarter earnings that cemented its lead as the world's biggest streaming group and triggered a flurry of upgrades from analysts on Wall Street.

Netflix stock (NFLX) surged, after the streaming service reported the highest-ever level of quarterly subscriber gains and said it plans to [raise U.S. prices](