Asian shares closed mixed on Wednesday, after firmer gains seen earlier slightly faded — although investors were still assured by the upbeat remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during his congressional testimony.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 96.83 points, or 0.4%, to 22,794.19, recording its fourth consecutive session of gains. Exporters rose as the yen remained weak, with automakers tacking on 1.2%. Against the yen, the dollar traded at 113.06, after touching a six-month high earlier in the day.
Also contributing to the morning's sharp gains were oil and coal sector shares.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 64.26 points, or 0.2%, to 28,117.42, energy and materials leading losses, with CNOOC falling 2.6% before the market close.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi advanced 4.3% after the Hong Kong stock exchange said it had come to an agreement with mainland bourses to work on potentially allowing companies with weighted voting rights to be traded through the various connect programs.
In Korea, tech stocks recorded significant gains, with index heavyweight Samsung Electronics rising 1.5%, but were offset by losses in other major sectors, including automakers, steelmakers and construction.
Australian markets moved upward, with health-care and materials the top-performing sectors. Mining major BHP popped, closing higher by 3.3% after reporting record full-year iron ore production.
Gains in Asia came after the Fed's Powell gave a positive assessment of the U.S. economy during his semi-annual congressional testimony on Tuesday, indicating that gradual interest rate increases were warranted.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 18.06 points, or 0.5%, to 3,431.32
In individual stocks, shares of Air China fell 3.1% in Shanghai. The decline came after the airline had its flight hours reduced by regulators after an emergency incident, linked to a co-pilot smoking while on board an airplane, occurred last week.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 0.86 points to 3,240.50
In Taiwan, the Taiex index recouped 63.47 points, or 0.6%, to 10,842.46
In Korea, the Kospi index retreated 7.81 points, or 0.3%, to 2,290.11
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 descended 32.79 points, or 0.4%, to 8,946.10
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 41.47 points, or 0.7%, to 6,245.11
