Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday with investors noted a weaker dollar ahead of the April Federal Reserve rate review next week.
The S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.26%, while tje Nikkei 225 rose 0.18%.
In Japan, the adjusted trade balance for March showed a surplus of ¥280 billion, narrower than the ¥450 billion seen and an overall trade balance surplus of ¥755 billion, a second straight gain and also narrower than the ¥835 billion expected. Imports dropped 14.9%, less than the 16.2% year-on-year expected, but a 15th straight drop, and exports fell 6.8%, a tad weaker than a 6.9% decline seen, a sixth straight monthly drop.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.96%, while the Hong
Kong's Hang Seng index eased 0.70%. The yuan rose against the dollar on Wednesday after the People's Bank of China set a stronger fixing for a third consecutive session at 6.4579 compared with 6.4700, or 0.19% stronger.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, as a wave of downbeat earnings and guidance from prominent companies offset energy-related gains spurred by an unexpected rally in oil that pushed crude prices to fresh yearly-highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 49.44 or 0.27% to 18,053.60, while the S&P 500 Composite index ticked up 6.46 or 0.31% to 2,100.80, as both closed higher for the fifth time in six sessions. On the S&P 500, eight of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Basic Materials and Energy sectors led.
Stocks in the Technology and Consumer Services industries lagged, each falling more than 0.25% on the session. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, fell 19.69 or 0.40% to 4,940.33, as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:ILMN) and Viacom B Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:VIAB) weighed heavily. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 remain near 2016-yearly highs.