Stocks in Asia closed mixed on Wednesday as oil prices extended gains and the dollar was treading water ahead of the end of the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting.
The Nikkei 225 regained 94.96 points, or 0.5%, to 20,050.16, as shares of Japanese automakers contributed to gains after Mitsubishi Motors beat earnings expectations.
The Hang Seng Index leaped 88.97 points, or 0.3%, to 26,941.02
Against the Japanese currency, the U.S. dollar fetched 111.81 yen, compared to levels around the 111.1 handle seen earlier this week.
In corporate news, Japan's Toshiba was in the spotlight after the company's board announced it would meet with other bidders on Wednesday. Western Digital and Foxconn were among the companies from which Toshiba will be reviewing offers.
Toshiba announced in June that a consortium led by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan was the company's preferred bidder for the sale of its chip unit. However, the company has been unable to secure an agreement with the INCJ-led group. Toshiba shares closed up 6.3%
Also in Japan, shares of Mitsubishi Motor gained 7% on the back of better-than-expected first quarter profits released Tuesday. The automaker recorded operating profits of 20.6 billion yen ($185.2 million U.S.) compared to an estimate of 15.10 billion yen. Mitsubishi shares closed 4.5% higher.
Also beating analyst expectations was video game company Nintendo. The company reported operating profits of 16.21 billion yen ($144.95 million) for the quarter through June after the market close, beating a Thomson Reuters Starmine forecast of 11.55 billion yen.
South Korea's LG Display also reported second-quarter profits Tuesday after the market close. The company recorded operating profits of 804 billion won ($721 million U.S.) compared to 44.4 billion won from one year ago. LG Display share were off 1.2% at the close.
Hong Kong-listed property stocks were once again responsible for moves in the markets, with Sunac China Holdings gaining 4% after being sold off in the previous session. Sunac shares fell around 7% on Tuesday after the property developer said it was raising $516.4 million U.S. in a share sale.
Other property stocks linked to an asset disposal deal involving Dalian Wanda also trended higher. Dalian Wanda Hotel Development rose 5.1% and Guangzhou R&F edged up 0.3% late afternoon.
Meanwhile, shares of China Evergrande Group rallied after the company announced in a filing on Tuesday that it was expecting its unaudited net profit to be triple the amount recorded one year ago. Evergrande shares were last up 11.8%
Gaming stocks listed in Hong Kong were in the doldrums, with Wynn Macau leading the losses. While second-quarter revenues in Macau rose on year, the company's parent Wynn Resorts acknowledged soft mass market performance in Macau on Tuesday.
Wynn Macau shares were down 3.7% following the news. Other Hong Kong-listed gaming stocks also trended lower, with Galaxy Entertainment down 2% and Melco International Development falling 2.2%
Asian corporates reporting earnings today include South Korea's Hyundai Motors, as well as Japan's Line.
In Singapore, industrial production for the month of June rose 13.1% on year, higher than a forecast of a 7.6% increase.
Markets Down Under moved higher, driven by solid gains in the energy and materials sub-indexes which were up 2.9% and 2.1% respectively.
Over in Australia, second-quarter CPI rose 1.9% on year compared to the 2.2% expected. Consumer prices rose 0.2% compared to the previous quarter — below the 0.4% forecast.
The Australian dollar tumbled to trade at $0.7900 U.S. on the news, compared to levels around the $0.793 handle seen earlier in the session. The currency last traded at $0.7891 U.S.
In other markets
The CSI 300 slid 14.17 points, or 0.4%, to 3,705.39
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dropped 44.04 points, or 0.4%, to 10,419.11
In Korea, the Kospi index retreated 5.39 points, or 0.2%, to 2,434.51
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 8.89 points, or 0.3%, to 3,336.72
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 eased off 2.47 points to 7,710.59
In Australia, the ASX 200 improved 50.03 points, or 0.9%, to 5,776.63
