Asia: Stocks mixed as oil prices drop, traders await Jackson Hole
Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday as oil prices fell and traders awaited comments from Federal Reserve officials.
At the close, the Hang Seng dropped 0.77% to 22,820.78 points and the Shanghai fell 0.12% to 3,085.88 points.
The Nikkei 225 bucked the trend, rising 0.61% to 16,597.30 points, as a weaker yen gave exporters a boost.
“Uncertainty has enveloped the global markets this week with investor jitters intensifying as the lack of direction continues to send ominous warnings ahead of Friday’s Jackson Hole gathering,” said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.
“Global stocks remain pressured with Asia and Europe trading lower as anxiety and erratic oil prices sour risk appetite.”
Oil prices were in the red, following some brief respite late Tuesday, after the American Petroleum Institute reported an increase of 4.5 million barrels in US crude stockpiles last week.
Official data on US weekly crude inventories from the Energy Information Administration will be released at 1530 BST.
Brent crude declined 1.3% to $49.28 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.8% to $47.24 per barrel at 1023 BST.
Meanwhile, investors are bracing for a speech by Fed chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues at Jackson Hole on Friday, hoping they will shed more light on whether the central bank will raise interest rates this year.
“(Yellen) is expected to deliver a balanced and cautious speech, yet investors will be reading between the lines to figure out how aligned she is with the most hawkish Fed members calling for a rate hike before the end of 2016,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group.
Among corporate stocks, Sony Corp. gained after the Japanese electronics giant said it will increase the price of its PlayStation Plus service, just weeks before unveiling two new versions of the videogame console.
Japanese exporters, including automakers Toyota Motor Corp, Mazda and Nissan Motor, advanced on a weaker yen.
In Australia, Qantas Airways rallied after reporting a record full year profit and paid its first dividend in seven years, following a restructuring.