Asian stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with several regional markets giving up early gains after recent trade fears waned in the last session.
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 107.22 points, or 0.5%, to 21,687.10. Financials, oil producers and shippers gained, but declines were seen in consumer goods sectors.
Against the safe-haven Japanese currency, the U.S. dollar pared some gains made against the yen amid the improvement in investor confidence overnight. The dollar traded at 107.03
In individual stocks, shares of Japan's SoftBank Group bounced 3.5% after news that Sprint, which is owned by SoftBank, has embarked once more on merger talks with T-Mobile. The latest attempt comes after Sprint and T-Mobile ended merger talks in November.
Also of note, Japan core machinery orders rose 2.1%in February compared to the month before, topping a median forecast of a 2.5% drop in an economists’ survey.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index improved 168.97 points, or 0.6%, to 30,897.71, on the back of gains in the energy and materials sectors.
In Australia, markets gave way, as most sub-indexes closed in the red, although energy and materials rose. The heavily weighted financials sector slid 1%
The Australian dollar pared some of its overnight gains after gaining in the last session on the pick up in market sentiment. The Aussie dollar last traded at $0.7747.
The currency largely shrugged off China consumer inflation easing last month. Media reported that China's consumer price index in March came in at 2.1%, below the 2.6% gain expected.
CHINA
In China, the CSI 300 took on 11.17 points, or 0.3%, to 3,938.34. While Chinese President Xi Jinping's Tuesday trade comments were a positive development, they were unlikely to instantly solve recent U.S.-China trade tensions
On the economic front, China's central bank said it would roll out several measures aimed at opening up the country's financial services sector by year-end. The People's Bank of China also said it would increase "foreign ownership limits to 51% in securities, fund management, futures and life insurance companies over [the] next few months," Reuters reported.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi erased 6.52 points, or 0.3%, to 2,444.42
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 13.38 points, or 0.4%, to 3,479.76
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index advanced 46.84 points, or 0.4%, to 10,974.02
In New Zealand, the NZD 50 Index dropped 16.04 points, or 0.2%, to 8,453.72
In Australia, the ASX 200 Index faded 28.28 points, or 0.5%, to 5,828.68
