Kospi hits record again, rises above 7,800 points

South Korea's Kospi rises above 7,800 points for the first time, a week after reaching above 7,000. Just before lunchtime, the index was up 4.5 percent.

In Tokyo, the main Nikkei 225 index is down 0.4 percent while the broader Topix is unchanged.

The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng is also down, losing 0.4 percent.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen indices are up 0.7 and 1.7 percent, respectively.