Asia: Stocks end up ahead of Eurogroup meeting; Nikkei hits 18-year high on BoJ minutes

Asian stocks ended higher on Wednesday as investors grew increasingly hopeful that a deal between Greece and its creditors would be struck as they looked to a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers.

The Nikkei 225 ended up 0.28% or 20,868 points, its highest level in 18 years following the release of the Bank of Japan's minutes.

Members of the central bank said the country is on track to meet its 2% inflation target by 2016. They also said the economy is expected to recover thanks to domestic demand, even with concerns about weak gains in Tokyo.

The Markit Japan flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a seasonally-adjusted 49.9 in June from 50.9 in May, slipping below the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion.

On the plus side, though, Markit said a favourable exchange rate and an increase in foreign demand led to a further rise in new export orders in June.

"Moreover, the latest expansion was the second-fastest since January and quicker than the series average,” economists at Markit said.

Sticking with economic data, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday that corporate service prices rose 0.6% in May, beating expectations of a 0.4% increase.

The Shanghai composite index jumped 2.48% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.26% driven by liquidity coming from recent initial public offerings.

Chinese stocks were also helped by an increase in Westpac's consumer sentiment, which rose to 112.3 points in June from 111.1 in May.

However, economic activity in China fell to 1.1 from 1.4 dragged by manufacturing and exports, according to the Conference Board.

On Tuesday, Capital Economics economists said they remain confident policymakers can still achieve their annual growth target of about 7%.

Elsewhere in Australia, the ASX index ended flat, up just 0.04% after Tuesday's data showed housing prices continued to rise during the first quarter, but at a slower pace.

Energy companies were driven higher by firmer crude oil prices. Oil and gas company Santos gained 0.48% and Woodside Petroleum rose 0.22% on news it received offers to review seven retention leases.

On the downside, Flight Center Travel Group lost 8.8% one day after it issued its second profit warning in six months, which led several brokers to cut their ratings.