Asian indexes were mixed on Wednesday following the rally on Wall Street as investors eyed the annual gathering of central bankers.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are among the central bankers due to speak at the symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week. With little market-moving news on the calendar, investors will be keen on their speeches scheduled on Friday. The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates and is preparing to pare back the $4.5 trillion it holds on its balance sheet, and investors are wondering when the European Central Bank will follow suit.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.26 percent, or 50.80 points, to close at 19,434.64, ending a five-day losing streak while Hong Kong markets were closed as tropical cyclone Hato approached.
Market movers during the day included Toshiba, which has started talks with Western Digital as it attempts to secure an agreement for the sale of its flash memory arm, Nikkei Asian Review reported. Toshiba shares rose 5.30 percent.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in August, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed on Wednesday with a Manufacturing PMI score of 52.8.
In corporate news, China Unicom's Hong Kong unit entered into a share subscription agreement with Unicom BVI, according to a release on the Hong Kong Exchange. Unicom BVI, controlling shareholder of China Unicom Hong Kong, will subscribe for a maximum of 6.65 billion subscription shares at a price of HK$13.24 per share.
The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.08 percent, or 2.5461 points, to close at 3,287.6796, while the Shenzhen Composite declined 0.331 percent, or 6.3243 points, to 1,901.9955.
Elsewhere:
South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent to 2,366.86.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up gains made earlier in the session. The index slid 0.22 percent, or 12.924 points, to end at 5,737.200.
