Leading indexes on Asian stock exchanges went in different directions during the initial hours after opening on Wednesday.
In China, the stock exchanges showed a plus, with the composite index in Shanghai and Shenzhen up 0.5 and 0.6 percent, respectively. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index stood at a plus of 0.4 percent.
In Tokyo, the development was the opposite, with declines of 0.9 percent for both the Nikkei 225 index and the broader Topix index.
In South Korea, it was also downward, minus 0.4 percent for the Kospi index.