BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors monitored oil price movements and awaited the U.S. CPI report later in the day for additional clues on the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory.
The dollar was firm in Asia trade while gold traded at $4,405 an ounce, rising towards a 10-week high on receding Fed hike bets.
Brent crude futures rose nearly 1 percent to $89.60 a barrel, building on recent gains despite comments by Pakistan's defense minister Khawaja Asif that the U.S. and Iran are close to 'some sort of an arrangement' and that 'things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal.'
China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.32 percent to 3,946.68, with technology stocks pacing the gainers.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.83 percent to 25,440.17 amid fading hopes for a U.S.-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Japanese markets rose notably as traders returned from a holiday on Tuesday. The Nikkei average jumped 0.83 percent to 67,524.06, with banks leading the charge as a weakening yen fueled expectations for additional rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial both rose around 3 percent. AI and semiconductor stocks also attracted buying, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron rising 0.9 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. The broader Topix index settled 0.94 percent higher at 4,139.
Seoul stocks ended sharply higher for a third consecutive session as semiconductor heavyweights attracted bargain hunting after recent losses. Samsung Electronics surged 6.7 percent, SK Hynix advanced 5.5 percent and SK Square soared 8.4 percent. The benchmark Kospi index rallied 3.68 percent to 6,579.04.
Australian markets fell, dragged down by banks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.45 percent to 9,209.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.41 percent lower at 9,404.70.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares fell 0.7 percent despite the bank clocking a record-high annual profit. ANZ, NAB and Westpac fell between 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent.
Seek plummeted 14.3 percent after it swung to a full-year loss. Premier Investments plunged 11 percent after downgrading its underlying earnings guidance.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.89 percent to 13,737.66, extending declines for a second straight session.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower after Iranian officials reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed and negotiations could not resume unless the U.S. complied with a June framework agreement and compensated Iran for alleged violations.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to extend losses for a second day running. The narrower Dow Jones shed 0.3 percent.
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