Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, with attention turning to a speech by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke later in the week as dealers look for an indication of any stimulus by the central bank.
And the euro eased against the yen and dollar after rising late Tuesday following successful bond auctions in Spain and Italy and on expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will restart a bond-buying programme.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 36.52 points higher at 9,069.81, with shares in Renesas Electronics soaring 35.08 percent to 308 yen after reports that US investment fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. plans to spend $1.3 billion to take control of the troubled microchip maker.
The world's biggest producer of air-conditioners, Daikin Industries, fell 3.53 percent to 2,073 yen after reports that it would acquire US rival Goodman Global for 300 billion yen ($3.8 billion).
Sharp Corp. jumped 6.97 percent to 230 yen, as concerns eased over a cash crunch at the consumer electronics giant on expectations of support from its banks and Taiwanese partner Hon Hai Precision
The Seoul index added 0.64 percent, or 12.21 points, to 1,928.54. Sydney closed flat, edging down 0.07 percent, or 2.98 points, to 4,356.4 points.
Hong Kong fell 0.12 percent, or 23.29 points, to 19,788.51 and Shanghai eased 0.96 percent, or 19.91 points, to 2,053.24, its lowest since February 2009.
Bernanke is due to address central bankers at an annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, with investors hoping he will outline plans for further measures to boost the world's number one economy.
"Players remain in wait-and-see mode leading up to the Jackson Hole summit where more hints on information about the direction of monetary policy are expected," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Global markets enjoyed an impressive rally in August on hopes for fresh Fed stimulus and bond-buying by the ECB, while Chinese leaders are also expected to loosen monetary policy to kickstart the Asian giant.
On forex markets the euro bought $1.2541 and 98.52 yen in afternoon Asian trade, compared with $1.2565 and 98.68 yen in New York late Tuesday.
The single currency was provided some support by news that ECB head Mario Draghi would not attend Jackson Hole, which stoked speculation a new round of bond buying was near.
The dollar was at 78.50 yen against 78.49 yen.
Wall Street provided an anaemic lead after mixed economic data.
The Conference Board reported its US consumer confidence index dropped to a nine-month low of 60.6 for August, down from 65.9 in July.
The report showed consumers grew less confident about business and job prospects in the coming months.
Before the opening bell, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 cities showed prices rose for the fifth straight month in June, by 1.0 percent.
The Dow fell 0.17 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.08 percent while the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 0.13 percent.
On Tokyo's Nikkei index shares in troubled microchip maker Renesas closed up 35.08 percent at 308 yen after media reports that a US investment fund plans to spend $1.3 billion to take control of it.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) reportedly hopes to reach a formal agreement with the firm's top three Japanese stakeholders -- NEC, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric -- as early as September.
The investment of 100 billion yen would dwarf Renesas's market capitalisation of about 95 billion yen as of Tuesday.
Oil eased, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery shedding 83 cents to $95.50 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for delivery in the same month slipping 66 cents to $111.92.
Gold was at $1,664.50 at 0810 GMT compared to $1,661.90 on Tuesday.
In other markets:
-- Taipei rose 0.40 percent, or 29.21 points, to 7,391.15.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.36 percent higher at Tw$82.7 while leading smartphone maker HTC gained 2.01 percent at Tw$253.5.
-- Manila closed 0.39 percent higher, adding 20.10 points to 5,195.72.
Metropolitan Bank and Trust rose 1.39 percent to 94.85 pesos and SM Prime Holdings added 0.29 percent to 13.80 pesos.
-- Wellington closed flat, edging down 0.66 points to 3,628.39.
Telecom was down 0.2 percent at NZ$2.43 and Air New Zealand was flat at NZ$0.90.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-markets-mixed-ahead-bernanke-speech-100153320--finance.html
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