Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Friday with Tokyo down after consumer price figures disappointed and investors cautious ahead of remarks from the U.S. Fed chief later in the day.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.65%, while the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.19% and the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.35%.
In Japan, national core CPI fell 0.5% year-on-year for July more than the 0.4% decline seen, while national CPI eased 0.4% as expected in data that is now calculated under a 2015 base year with updated weightings. The core figure was the the fifth straight drop after a 0.4% decline in June. Retailers are cautious about raising prices in broad sectors after last year's price hikes amid uncertainty over global and domestic growth. Slow wage hikes are also clouding the prospects for the Bank of Japan's achieving its stable 2% inflation target.
The annual economic symposium is in the spotlight with Fed Chair Janet Yellen's opening remarks on Friday at 10 a.m. EST. But while she speaks early in the conference, other central bankers will discuss and consider the future of monetary policy in the aftermath of the financial crisis and in a low interest rate era.
Besides Yellen, three other central bank officials will be speaking at the conference. Bank of Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens, ECB Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure and Bank of Japan Governor Kauhiko Kuroda will participate in a panel discussion Saturday at 12:25 p.m. ET to close the conference.
According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, investors are pricing in an 27% chance of a rate hike by September, up from 12% at the start of last week. December odds were nearly 43%.
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Healthcare, Consumer Services and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.18%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.14%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.11%.