South Korea's Kospi jumps to record high as regional rally tracks Wall Street gains

South Korea's Kospi hit a fresh record high Thursday, as the region tracked gains on Wall Street and several bourses in Asia resumed trading after the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Kospi index jumped 2.76% to a fresh record high, with index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix up 4.14% and 1.48%, respectively.

The small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.59%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1% in early trade.

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.52%, while the Topix rose 0.39%.

Hong Kong and mainland China markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year break.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 moved higher, supported by gains in key technology names, as traders weighed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.

The broad-based index climbed 0.56% to end at 6,881.31, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.78% to settle at 22,753.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26% to close at 49,662.66.

—CNBC's Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.