Asian shares ended a volatile Wednesday on a mixed note, with China's two main equity benchmarks rallying more than 5% as investors sought out value plays among issues that have been beaten down of late.

For the region's exchanges ending higher, it generally marked a fourth straight session of gains.

Expectations that Beijing will hike fuel prices sent oil companies' shares higher, with Shanghai-listed refining giant Sinopec (SNP) jumping its 10% daily limit.

Meanwhile, BHP Billiton fronted gains in the resource sector, with banks such as National Australia Bank Ltd. among the decliners in Sydney.

Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) (CAJ) and other Japanese exporters eked out modest gains as the yen weakened slightly against the U.S. dollar on dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the autumn.

Shares of Canon ended 0.4% higher, while NEC Electronics Corp. (Tokyo:6723) rallied in Tokyo on an analyst upgrade.

In foreign-exchange trading, Japan's currency changed hands at 108.26 yen against the dollar, compared with 107.97 yen late Tuesday in New York and 108.06 yen late Monday.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed 0.7% higher at 14,452.82, while the broader Topix index was up 0.6% at 1,409.64.

Also in the winning column, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.4% higher at 5, 443.20, South Korea's Kospi Composite index firmed 1.3% to 1,774.13 and Taiwan's Weighted Price Index added 0.2% to 8,217.58.

Elsewhere, Singapore's Straits Times Index ended little changed at 3,027.98. Among markets trading on a weaker note, New Zealand's NZX-50 eased 0.4%, Indonesia's JSX Composite fell 0.6%, Thailand's SET retreated 0.9%, Malaysia's KLSE Composite gave up 1.2% and India's Bombay Sensex surrendered 1.5%.

Reversal of fortunes

China's Shanghai Composite was the regional standout, reversing a deficit of more than 2% that saw the benchmark touch a 15-month low on an intraday basis before rebounding to end 5.2% higher. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 5.1% to 843.19.

There was a spillover effect in Hong Kong as the Hang Seng Index climbed 1.2% to 23,325.80. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, Hong Kong's benchmark for China shares, ended 2.1% higher at 12,829.33.

Brokers said investors were searching out bargains after 10 straight losing sessions in which the forward multiple on the Shanghai benchmark contracted to 15 times projected 2008 earnings.

"When you've got China trading at a lower earnings ratio than the S&P, you are going to attract investors," said Ben Collett, head of hedge-fund trading at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

Shares of Hong Kong-listed airlines Air China (HongKong:0753) and China Southern Airlines Co.