Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with benchmarks in Japan and Hong Kong tracking higher after Wall Street mostly advanced on the back of strong corporate results overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 103.77 points, or 0.5%, to 22,614.25, with steelmakers and other metal stocks among the best-performing sectors: JFE Holdings rose 3% and Nisshin Steel rallied 2.2%.
Despite broader gains, Mitsubishi Motors dropped 2.9% as investors took profit after the automaker reported expectation-topping earnings in the previous session.
Against the yen, the U.S. dollar was mostly steady at 111.17
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng hiked 258.33 points, or 0.9%, to 28,920.90, with the index's overall gains led by the advance in services and energy.
Korean stocks gave way after reversing a rise seen earlier as major technology stocks turned lower.
Australian markets were lower as declines in health-care and consumer staples led the move lower.
Among individual movers, LG Display fell 4.7% after the company said it expected the LCD industry to go through "restructuring.” The manufacturer had earlier gained after reporting a smaller-than-expected loss of 228 billion won ($202.2 million U.S.) in the morning.
Meanwhile, SK Engineering and Construction shareholder companies saw their stocks drop after a dam the construction company was building in Laos collapsed. Hundreds of people are currently missing in the wake of the accident. SK Holdings dropped 5.1% and SK Discovery lost 11.9%
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slipped 3.96 points, or 0.1%, to 3,577.75
Shares of Changsheng Bio-technology were halted from trade on Wednesday, with the suspension expected to lift on Thursday. The pharmaceuticals company has seen its stock plunge amid a vaccine scandal happening in China over safety standards violations.
Investors cheered Beijing's announcement earlier this week that it would turn to more vigorous fiscal policy, including corporate tax cuts, with the changes coming in the wake of the U.S.-China trade war.
Chinese equities were given a boost in the last session on the back of those policy changes, with the Shanghai Composite leading the advance in major Asian markets in the previous session.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 34.18 points, or 1%, to 3,326.83
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slid 29.6 points, or 0.3%, to 10,965.79
In Korea, the Kospi index erased 7.17 points, or 0.3%, to 2,273.03
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 32.57 points, or 0.4%, to 8,933.89
In Australia, the ASX 200 let go of 18.2 points, or 0.3%, to 6,247.65
