Asia stocks mixed on renewed Syria fears; Nikkei up 0.4% on weaker yen

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mixed during late Asian hours on Wednesday, amid renewed concerns over U.S. military action against Syria.

Ongoing uncertainty over the timing of the Federal Reserve’s widely expected reduction in monthly bond purchases also weighed.

The Fed’s stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of global equities.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.1%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended 0.4% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.35%.

Concerns over a U.S. military intervention against Syria’s government shifted back into focus on Tuesday after the Republican House Speaker John Boehner endorsed President Barack Obama's call for military strikes.

Meanwhile, data on Tuesday showed that manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at the fastest rate since April 2011 in August. The upbeat data reinforced the view that the Fed could start to unwind its stimulus program at its upcoming policy meeting on September 17-18.

The Institute for Supply Management said its purchasing managers’ index rose to 55.7 in August from a reading of 55.4 in July. Analysts had expected a reading of 54.0.

Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report which is seen as central to the Fed’s decision on tapering.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei outperformed the region as the yen weakened against the U.S. dollar, boosting sentiment.

USD/JPY rose to hit a session high of 99.79, moving off the previous session’s low of 99.15. A weaker yen increases the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when repatriated, improving the outlook for export earnings.

Shares in automakers Toyota and Mazda added 0.3% and 0.7% respectively, while Sony and Canon tacked on 0.8% and 3.8%.

Japanese megabanks were also higher, with shares of the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gaining 1.8%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Nomura Holdings advanced 1.2% and 1.4% respectively.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng swung between small gains and losses as investors booked profits after recent gains.

China Construction Bank shares slumped 1.2% after Bank of America sold its remaining holdings in the lender for USD1.5 billion.

Elsewhere, in Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index came off a three-month high after data showed that the nation’s economy expanded 0.6% in the second quarter, in line with expectations.

The Australian economy grew by 2.6% on a year-over-year basis in the April-to-June period, after expanding by an annualized 2.5% in the January-to-March period.

The big four banks were mostly lower, with National Australia Bank shares falling 0.45%, while ANZ Banking Group and Westpac Banking Group declined 0.7% apiece. Commonwealth Banking Group dipped 0.1%.

Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a higher open.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.25% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.25%, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a rise of 0.2% at the open.

The euro zone was to release data on retail sales later Wednesday, while the U.S. was to publish a report on the trade balance.