Markets in Asia finished mixed on Wednesday, as traders remained in a wait-and-see mode ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo recovered 99.94 points, or 0.6%, to 16,597.30
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index collapsed 178.15 points, or 0.8%, to 22,820.78
Oil prices were volatile, having dropped off Wednesday from gains Tuesday, gains which followed a report that said Iran was sending positive signals that it may support joint action to prop up the oil market.
Iran, which is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has boosted production output since it returned to the international market this year when Western sanctions were lifted.
Energy plays in the region were mixed, with Santos closing up 0.4%, Woodside Petroleum up 0.9% and Inpex down 0.2%. Oil Search shares also fell 1.6%
The Japanese yen traded relatively weaker against the U.S. dollar at 100.35 as of late afternoon local time, compared with levels as high as 99.97 U.S. reached on Tuesday afternoon local time.
Relative weakness in the yen spurred Japanese export stocks higher, with Toyota shares gaining 2.1%, Nissan up 2.7% and Sony adding 2.2%.
Qantas reported an underlying profit before tax of 1.53 billion Australian dollars ($1.17 billion U.S.) for the period, up 57% on-year. The company said its main divisions - including Qantas Domestic, Qantas International, the Jetstar Group and Qantas Loyalty - reported record results, as Qantas benefited from ongoing restructuring efforts.
Qantas shares closed up 1.5%.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong-listed shares of China Vanke were down 1.2%, while the Shenzhen-listed shares closed down 2.9%. Ratings agency S&P on Wednesday said it revised its outlook on Vanke to negative from stable, while affirming its BBB+ long-term rating.
Elsewhere, global commodity trader Glencore reported its first-half numbers for the six months through June 30, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization falling 13% on-year to $4.02 billion U.S.
Glencore said it was targeting to cut net debt to between $16.5 billion and $17.5 billion U.S. by the end of 2016 through asset sales.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 docked 11.97 points, or 0.4%, to 3,329.86
The Taiex Index in Taiwan dropped 13.55 points, or 0.2%, to 9,017.38
In Korea, the Kospi index doffed 6.17 points, or 0.3%, to 2,043.76
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 19.14 points, or 0.7%, to 2,869.57
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 57.04 points, or 0.8%, to 7,410.30
The ASX 200 added 7.9 points, or 0.1%, to 5,561.68
