Asian shares eased on Wednesday following modest losses on Wall Street, with investors awaiting U.S. jobs numbers for further clues to whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates as soon as September.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.35 percent as traders awaited August U.S. non-farm payrolls due on Friday after a run of strong economic data and hawkish comments from Fed officials. The index still remains on track for a 1.7 percent gain in August.
Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday in heavy trade, led by exporters and financials as the dollar stood tall against the yen and upbeat U.S. consumer confidence data lifted expectations of a near-term U.S. interest rate hike.
The Nikkei gained 1.0 percent to 16,887.40, the highest closing level since Aug. 12. The benchmark index gained 1.9 percent this month.
China stocks firmed on Wednesday as the earnings season drew to a close, with interim results wrong-footing pessimists amid signs that state-backed investors have bought blue-chip shares in a bid to help stabilise the market.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.5 percent, to 3,327.79, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to 3,085.49 points.
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