Asian stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar climbed after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 83.59 points, or 0.5%, to 16,819.24. The dollar/yen pair was trading at 102.92 as of late afternoon Wednesday, around three-week lows for the yen.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 98.87 points, or 0.4%, to 23,788.31
South Korea's Kospi listed lower, recovering from losses of more than 0.6% earlier after better-than-expected inflation data were released.
South Korea's consumer price index rose 1.2% in September from a year earlier, its highest in seven months, on the back on improved consumption.
In commodity-related stock news, South Korea's S-Oil was upgraded by Citi Investment Research to a buy rating on the back of its large-scale RUC/ODC refining project. Shares of S-Oil ticked up 1.7%
Australian markets cooled, weighed by losses in the energy sector, which fell 0.4%, and a 1.4% slide in the materials sector.
Australia's August retail sales rose 0.4% from the previous month, compared with an expected rise of 0.2%. The improved retail sales were supported by lower interest rates and improved consumer confidence.
In other markets
Markets in Shanghai remain shuttered all this week.
In Korea, the Kospi dropped 1.86 points, or 0.1%, to 2,053
The Straits Times Index in Singapore stepped back 2.85 points, or 0.1%, to 2,881.79
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index lost 15.49 points, or 0.2%, to 9,272.28
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 sank 81.31 points, or 1.1%, to 7,271.16
In Australia, the ASX 200 moved lower 31.08 points, or 0.6%, to 5,452.93
