Asia markets were mostly lower on September's first trading day, with sentiment weighed by sharp overnight declines in oil prices and as traders shrugged off a better-than-expected reading on China's manufacturing sector.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 39.44 points, or 0.2%, to 16,926.84
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 185.46 points, or 0.8%, to 23,162.34, finishing at levels not seen since August 2015.
In the currency market, the Japanese yen weakened, with U.S. dollar strength pushing the dollar/yen pair to 103.57 in the afternoon, up from levels near 100.50 last week.
Japanese exporters traded mixed despite the yen weakness, withToyota shares closing up 0.7% and Nissan gaining 1.6%, but Sony fell 0.8%
In company news, South Korean electronics maker Samsung closed down 2%, following reports the company's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was facing further supply problems after claims of battery explosions. Reuters said Samsung halted shipments of the Note 7 to the top three South Korean carriers as it conducted additional quality tests.
The smartphone maker also launched its Gear S3 smartwatch on Wednesday as it looked to steal a march on Apple and its heavily-anticipated update of its wearable.
Energy names in the region finished lower, with Santos shares down 3.2%, Beach Energy dropping 3.5% and Inpex falling 2.6%
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 fell 26.21 points, or 0.8%, to 3,301.58
China markets didn't react much to a government survey of large enterprises in the manufacturing sector, which showed an uptick in factory activity. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 50.4, beating forecasts for 49.9 and the July print of 49.9. Levels above 50 indicate expansion, while levels below 50 indicate contraction.
A separate private survey of small-to-medium sized companies, however, revealed stagnating operating conditions. The Caixin China general manufacturing PMI for August came in at 50.0, below July's read of 50.6.
In other markets
The Taiex Index in Taiwan dropped 67.7 points, or 0.8%, to 9,001.15
In Korea, the Kospi index moved lower 1.93 points, or 0.1%, to 2,032.72
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index hesitated 4.12 points, or 0.2%, to 2,816.47
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 24.36 points, or 0.3%, to 7,423.19
The ASX 200 slid 17.47 points, or 0.3%, to 5,415.56
