Investing.com - Japanese stocks gained early Wednesday, with the help of the yen's slump against the dollar and as investors in the region turned their attention increasingly to a meeting by the European Central Bank later this week.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% after hitting a more than seven-month high Tuesday, as investors bets that expected changes in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet could boost volumes in equities markets.
Helping sentiment was a meeting Thursday by the European Central Bank, which could bring additional stimulus to the region's economy.
Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2%, while Korea's KOSPI was down 0.2%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks finished mixed to lower as sinking oil prices brought down energy-sector shares, though upbeat U.S. data managed to cushion losses.
The Dow 30 fell 0.18%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.05%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.39%.
While the U.S. economy continues to show signs of improvement, the global economy may be battling headwinds, concerns of which that battered crude prices earlier Tuesday.
The greenback firmed after the Institute for Supply Management reported that its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to 59.0 in August from 57.1 in July, defying analysts' calls for the index to tick down to 56.8.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
The new orders component of the index rose to 66.7, an increase of 3.3 points from 63.4 in July.
The employment index grew for the fourteenth consecutive month the report said, registering 58.1, down 0.01 points from 58.2 in July.
Also in the U.S., the Census Bureau reported earlier that U.S. construction spending rose to 1.8% in July from -0.9% in June, whose figure was revised up from -1.8%.
Analysts had expected U.S. construction spending to rise to 1.0% last month, an the day's upbeat data did cushion losses somewhat.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to publish data on factory orders.