Asia markets were mixed on Wednesday, with energy stocks under pressure following overnight declines in oil prices and as traders waited to see if the world's top oil producers would reach an agreement to cut production levels.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index eked up 1.44 points, or 0.1%, to close at 18,308.48
The yen, however, still weakened against the U.S. dollar to reach a session high of 112.96, falling from Tuesday's levels near 111.98.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 52.7 points, or 0.2%, to 22,789.77
Australian indexes sank, with miners among the top losers on the index as the materials sector fell 2.8%. The energy sector was down 1.9%, following overnight losses in oil prices.
Oil prices tumbled nearly 4% on Tuesday during U.S. hours, amid fresh uncertainties over a deal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on production levels. Ministers from the 14-nation cartel are slated to meet in Vienna later Wednesday to announce a decision on output curbs proposed in September.
Media outlets reported documents prepared for the meeting proposed OPEC cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day from October levels at 33.82 million barrels a day, which was more than the one-million-barrel-per-day cut the group discussed at a meeting in September.
Energy plays across the region were lower, as traders remained cautious over the upcoming OPEC decision; Santos shares in Australia dropped 3%, Oil Search was down 2.6% and Woodside Petroleum fell 2.4%. In Japan, Fuji Oil finished up 0.4% after reversing early losses of nearly 0.3%, while Japan Petroleum was down 3.3% and South Korea's S-Oil slipped 1.9% Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese oil plays were mostly lower.
The Korean won traded at 1,167.88 against the greenback, up from levels near 1,172 in the previous session.
In company news, Samsung shares rose 3.7% to 1,739,000 won to a record high following its Tuesday announcement that it planned to return 50% of its free cash flow to shareholders in 2016 and 2017. Media reported the Korean electronics giant added $9 billion U.S. to its market value on Wednesday.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai subtracted 26.04 points, or 0.7%, to 3,538
The Chinese yuan was stronger against the U.S. dollar, trading at 6.8858, climbing from its previous close at 6.8933.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi gained 5.09 points, or 0.3%, at 1,983.48
The Straits Times Index in Singapore advanced 24.88 points, or 0.9%, to 2,904.02
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index moved up 48.33 points, or 0.5%, to 9,240.71
The NZX 50 closed down 4.8 points, or 0.1%, at 6,896.95
Australia's ASX 200 dropped 17.03 points, or 0.3%, at 5,440.47
