Asian stocks were mostly higher Wednesday despite declines on Wall Street, as investors awaited the US Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, with expectations high that it will raise rates.
US stock futures also edged higher. Markets widely expect the Fed to raise interest rates Wednesday for the first time in three years as US inflation remains elevated and above the central bank's target.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 63,923.00, despite official data showing the country recorded its fourth straight monthly trade deficit in August.
South Korea's Kospi gained 1.4% to 6,717.97, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.2% to 24,715.18. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.7% to 3,891.60.
AI-related stocks remained volatile after US technology leaders called for slower development of artificial intelligence to improve safety.
SoftBank Group, a major investor in OpenAI, fell 1.5% after gaining 7.5% the previous day. Tokyo Electron, which makes chip manufacturing equipment, rose 2.1%, while Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings declined 1.9%.
South Korea's SK Hynix gained 4.1%, while Samsung Electronics rose 2%.
Taiwan's Taiex advanced 0.7%, while TSMC, Taiwan's leading AI chipmaker, slipped 0.2%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,696.50, while India's Sensex gained 0.5%.
Oil prices declined early Wednesday after rising the previous day, as tensions between the US and Iran continued and the closure of a key Saudi oil pipeline added to concerns over global supplies.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.9% to $107.76 a barrel, although it remained well above the roughly $72 level recorded before the war began in late February.
US benchmark crude dropped 1.5% to $104.24 a barrel.
On Tuesday, Wall Street's S&P 500 fell 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.6%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%.
US AI stocks showed signs of stabilizing. Nvidia gained 0.6%, while Advanced Micro Devices rose 2.2%.
Rising US Treasury yields have also weighed on stocks. Bond yields have increased as the energy crisis caused by the Iran war has added to inflationary pressure, while the US national debt has continued to grow.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was close to 5% early Wednesday after briefly reaching 5.04% this week, its highest level in years.
In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 154.93 Japanese yen from 155.10 yen. The euro rose to $1.1554 from $1.1544.