Japan's Nikkei rallied 1.0% to 16,174, a six-year high.
China's Shanghai Composite, however, tumbled 1.6% to 2,073 as investors continue to be nervous about potential credit market problems.
European markets are closed for Boxing Day.
U.S. markets will be open today. Futures will begin trading at 6:00 a.m. ET.
Later today, we'll get the latest weekly tally of U.S. initial jobless claims. Economists estimate claims fell to 347,000 from 379,000 a week ago. "Initial jobless claims likely fell back after two weeks of elevated readings,"said Citi's D'Antonio. "But the four-week moving average continued to rise. The number of beneficiaries probably remained high given the surge in first filings of late."