Stocks in Asia were mixed on Friday after Wall Street slipped on uncertainty in Washington while investors anticipated an annual central banking symposium in Jackson Hole.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.35 percent, with gains in automakers, trading houses and financials driving the broader rise in the index. Across the Korean strait, the Kospi traded just below the flat line, falling 0.03 percent.
Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.27 percent as investors digested earnings. Most sectors recorded losses, but the energy and utilities sub-indexes made moderate gains.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.20 percent. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite tacked on 0.77 percent and the Shenzhen Composite was higher by 0.507 percent.
Investors awaited Friday speeches from US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at an annual central banking meeting in Jackson Hole.
Despite interest in the central bankers' speeches, experts said major changes in policy are unlikely.
"Due to the uncertainty in the global markets and recent sell-off in US stocks, there's no better reason than the now for Yellen and Draghi to stick to script," Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, said in a note.
Ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting, the dollar index, which tracks the dollar against major currencies, edged up to stand at 93.328 at 9:37 a.m. HK/SIN, compared to an overnight low of 93.139.
Against the Japanese currency, the greenback firmed to fetch 109.60 yen. The dollar had fallen below the 109 handle earlier in the week after Trump warned he could shut down the government if he didn't secure funds to build a proposed border wall between the US and Mexico.
"Markets are trying to get past the noise (and tweets) in US politics, with risk aversion from the day before being traded off for cautious, if not defensive, positioning [at] Jackson Hole," Mizuho Bank Head of Economics and Strategy Vishnu Varathan wrote in a Friday note.
Developments in Washington were also on the radar, after the president criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan in a series of tweets on Thursday. A White House statement on Wednesday said Trump and McConnell were "united on many shared priorities."
In corporate news, Toshiba has been offered USD 1.9 trillion yen (USD 17.4 billion) for its memory chip unit, Reuters reported Thursday. The offer was made by a consortium including Western Digital and Innovation Network Corp of Japan, among others. Toshiba stock reversed earlier losses to gain 0.63 percent as other technology stocks in Japan proved a mixed picture.
Meanwhile, Samsung Group's de facto head, Jay Y. Lee, will receive a court ruling on bribery charges Friday, according to Reuters. Lee has been charged with bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached earlier this year after being caught up in a corruption scandal. Samsung companies listed on the Korea exchange largely shrugged off the news: Samsung Heavy rose 4.19 percent while Samsung SDI gained 0.26 percent, but Samsung Electronics edged down 0.46 percent.
Australia's Qantas Airways reported on Friday its second-highest result in the company's history. The airline's underlying profit before tax rose to AUD 1.4 billion (USD 1.1 billion) for the year ending on June 30. That was above the AUD1.38 pre-tax profit forecast by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S/. Qantas stock erased a fall of more than 2 percent in early trade to climb 1.9 percent.
Other market movers during the session included several Hong Kong-listed corporates that posted results after the market close on Thursday. Property developer China Vanke, for one, saw its stock rise 2.82 percent after it reported a 36.5 percent rise in net profit for the half of the year ending on June 30.
App company Meitu rose 4.62 percent after it said its net loss for the first half of the year was reduced by 94 percent compared to the year before. Meitu's total revenue increased almost threefold compared to one year ago.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed oil stocks gained after CNOOC and PetroChina announced strong first-half results that beat expectations. CNOOC and PetroChina saw their shares jump 3.51 percent and 4.15 percent, respectively.
Oil gained after taking a hit overnight due to Hurricane Harvey approaching the US coast. Global benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.67 percent to trade at USD 52.39 a barrel and US crude rose 0.67 percent to trade at USD 47.75.
In economic news, Japan July CPI rose 0.5 percent compared to one year ago, according to Reuters. That was the seventh consecutive month of gains in core consumer prices, Reuters said.
Equities stateside closed slightly lower despite a sharp rise in retail stocks, with the Dow Jones industrial average slipping 0.13 percent, or 28.69 points, to close at 21,783.4.
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