Investing.com - Shares in Asia were mixed with Sydney up slightly on Wednesday in a light data day.
The Nikkei 225 fll 0.66%, while the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.58%. In Australia, the MI leading index for June came in at a decline of 0.2%, with the previous figure showing a 0.2% gain month-on-month.
The outlook signaled by the leading index is more consistent with Westpac's forecast for growth holding steady around a 3% pace over the next year. The Reserve Bank will update its forecasts for growth and inflation in August for the quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy and has signaled it may lower the cash rate if the updated outlook requires a change in stance.
The Shanghai Composite Index was last down 0.23%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was last up 0.74%.
The yuan was slightly higher against the dollar after the People's Bank of China strengthened the fixing for the first time in three days at 6.6946, compared with 6.6971 on Tuesday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, remaining near-record territory, as considerable gains in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:NYSE:JNJ) were offset by sharp declines in Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:NFLX) shares after the global streaming film provider saw user growth fall precipitously over its previous quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 25.96 or 0.14% to close at an all-time high of 18,559.01, recording its eighth consecutive winning session. At session-highs, the Dow reached an all-time intraday high of 18,562.19, hitting a record intra-session peak for the seventh straight session.
Since falling approximately 850 points in the two sessions following last month's Brexit decision, the Dow has rallied more than 8.25%. The eight-session winning streak is the Dow's longest in more than three years.
The NASDAQ Composite index fell 19.41 or 0.38% to 5,036.37, while the S&P Composite index lost 3.11 or 0.14% to 2,163.78, as Netflix weighed on both indices.