Asia stocks mixed to lower ahead of Bernanke speech; Nikkei down 1.76%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mixed to lower during late Asian trade on Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke late in the day.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.32%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index eased up 0.01%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.76%.

Investors remained cautious ahead of Bernanke’s speech at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, amid ongoing speculation over how close the Fed may be to implementing more economic stimulus measures.

Official data showed on Thursday that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week held steady at 374,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 4,000 to 370,000.

A separate report showed that personal income in the U.S. rose by 0.3% in July, matching forecasts, after rising by a revised 0.3% in June. Personal spending rose 0.4%, in line with expectations after a flat reading in June.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei tumbled after a flurry of economic reports from Japan led investors to believe that the Bank of Japan may be too optimistic over the country's outlook for growth.

Government data showed that industrial production in Japan declined unexpectedly in July, dropping by 1.2% after a 0.4% rise the previous month and compared to expectations for a 1.7% increase.

Japan's index of manufacturing activity ticked down to 47.7 in August from a reading of 47.9 the previous month.

Separately, official data showed that Japan's core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, fell for a third month in August by 0.3%.

Sharp saw shares dive 12.78% amid reports it and Taiwanese company Hon Hai Precision Industry may spend over USD1 billion to boost capacity at the world's most advanced LCD panel factory in western Japan.

Automakers were also on the downside, with Nissan dropping 0.94%, while Honda and Toyota plummeted 2.21% and 1.74% respectively.

Meanwhile, shares in Hong Kong were weighed by sharp losses in Chinese oil companies.

PetroChina saw shares retreat 0.95% and Sinopec declined 0.50%, while the China National Offshore Oil Corporation dropped 0.52%

Financials also contributed to losses, as shares in Bank of China tumbled 1.05%, while HSBC and BOC Hong Kong lost 0.47% and 0.69% respectively.
 
Elsewhere, Australian shares were little changed as investors waited for clues on the Fed's future monetary policy.

Mining giant Rio Tinto surged 1.09%, after shares dove over 3% on Thursday, while BHP Billiton remained on the downside, dropping 0.63%.

Newcrest Mining was also sharply lower, with shares declining 2.33%, while Intrepid Mines plummeted 6.90%.  

Looking ahead, European stock futures pointed to a moderately higher open, ahead of Ben Bernanke's speech.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a 0.12% rise, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.22%, London’s FTSE 100 futures edged up 0.21%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a 0.15% gain.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on Chicago’s purchasing managers’ index, as well as revised data by the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and official data on factory orders.