Investing.com - Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday with no firm guidance from leading regional bourses or overnight from Wall Street.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.1%, as the yen strengthened a touch against the dollar. The Japanese currency was last trading at 102.25, compared with 102.17 late Tuesday in New York. South Korea's KOSPI, however, managed to gain 0.6%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.34% as the market was weighed by falls in banking stocks that went ex-dividend.
Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) fell 2.3%, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) lost 1.3%, and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) was 2.7% lower.
Australian stocks shrugged off the federal budget, which was announced on Tuesday after the market closed, as it wasn't as harsh as expected for the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year, though it could be a headwind for economic growth.
Overnight, lackluster U.S. retail sales data sent Wall Street closing mixed. The Dow 30 rose 0.12%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.04%, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.33%.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in April, missing expectations for a 0.4% increase. Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, were flat in April, disappointing forecasts for a 0.6% increase.
Consumer spending drives about three-fourths of the U.S. economy, and Tuesday's retail sales report dampened stock prices, though revised March data gave investors reason to cheer.