Asia markets wavered in early trade Wednesday, in uncertain trading after the global sell-off in European and US equities overnight.
Australia's ASX 200 was up 0.10 percent and South Korea's Kospi was up 0.31 percent as of 8:56 a.m. HK/SIN time. Japan's Nikkei 225 erased initial gains to slip 0.18 percent.
Ray Attrill, global co-head of FX strategy at the National Australia Bank, said in a morning note there was no obvious catalyst for the sell-off overnight.
"Rather, we'd gauge that stock investors are retreating back into their shells ahead of the US first quarter earnings seasons that kicks off in earnest next Monday," he said.
Major indexes in the US closed lower, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 0.75 percent, the S&P 500 lower by 1.01 percent and the Nasdaq composite off 0.98 percent. The FTSE closed down 1.19 percent.
In the currency market, the dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies, was flat at 94.628 as of 8:25 a.m. HK/SIN time.
The Japanese yen maintained the 110 handle against the greenback, with the dollar/yen pair trading at 110.47 in the morning local time. On Tuesday, the pair was as low as 109.94 before finishing the session at 110.31. That compares with levels above 112 last week.
Major Japanese exporters were mixed, with some taking cues from the slight rebound in the dollar/yen from yesterday's session lows. Shares of Toyota were up 0.26 percent, Nissan added 0.81 percent and Honda was up 1.04 percent. But Sony shed 1.08 percent and heavily weighted Fast Retailing lost 0.62 percent.
A strong yen is usually a negative for exporters as it affects their overseas revenue when converted into local currency.
Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, said in a morning note that the stronger the yen gets against the dollar, the greater the problems will be for Japanese companies. "Most Japanese corporations are hedged at 115 so they are bleeding profits at 110 and lower," she said. She expects more "jawboning" from Japanese policymakers in the coming days, with "the possibility of physical intervention if the dollar/yen falls much further."
"It is clear that traders are trying to test the Bank of Japan's limits because US and Japanese data still support gains in the dollar/yen. The US economy is improving (albeit at a slower than anticipated pace) while Japan's economy is weakening," she said.
Oil prices advanced during Asian hours, with US crude futures adding 2.59 percent to USD 36.82 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent futures were higher by 1.8 percent at USD 38.55.
Energy plays saw a rebound around the region, with shares of Santos adding 5.35 percent, Woodside Petroleum higher by 3.13 percent and Inpex adding 1.7 percent.
On the data front, China's Caixin services PMI are due.
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