Asian shares rose on Wednesday as indications of progress on a U.S. budget-reduction deal boosted investor confidence while encouraging quarterly numbers from Apple Inc and International Business Machines Corp helped Asia's beaten-down tech sector gain for a second day.

With just two weeks left until the U.S. government runs out of money to pay bills, President Barack Obama seized on a plan by a bipartisan group of senators that could revive stalled U.S. debt talks and the prospect of a long-term deficit reduction deal to avert a default.

Hopes that policymakers in Europe may reach a deal to provide more aid for Greece at a summit this week helped the euro which also drew support from Obama's comments.

The euro was up 0.1 percent against the dollar and 0.2 percent versus the yen in early Asian trade.

Asian tech stocks, this year's worst performing regional sector, got a lift as corporate earnings from IBM and iPhone maker Apple which surpassed analyst forecasts.

Benchmarks in Japan <.N225>, South Korea <.KS11> and Taiwan <.TWII> rose more than 1 percent in early trading with makers of tablet and smartphone components posting strong gains.

The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 1.2 percent. Samsung Electronics <005930.KS>, which plans to introduce an upgraded version of its own Galaxy tablet in the Korean markets on Wednesday, jumped 3.5 percent.

In a clear sign that risky assets were coming back in favor, gold snapped an snapped an unprecedented 11-day winning streak, shedding over 1 percent overnight. Spot gold which hit a record $1,609.51 an ounce on Tuesday was trading around $1,587.1 an ounce.

NYMEX crude oil rose above $98 a barrel as crude inventories in the U.S. tightened and industrialized nations looked unlikely to release more emergency reserves.

(Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

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