Investing.com - Shares in Asia traded mixed on Wednesday with Chinese manufacturing data noted and investors awaiting the latest views from the Federal Reserve on monetary policy in its first review of the year.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.46% on a weaker yen with markets in China closed through Thursday for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Shares of Toshiba fell 0.83%, earlier dropping as much as 3% after the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Toshiba will stop building nuclear power plants after incurring billions of dollars of losses to complete delayed projects in the U.S.
Australia's ASX 200 was up 0.36% underpinned by its gold sub-index, which was up 1.11 percent and its energy sub-index, which gained 1.12 percent.
Copper surged overnight as union workers at Chile's Minera Escondida, the biggest copper mine in the world, are planning to vote today on approving a strike as early as Friday after negotiations for a collective agreement seem to have fallen apart, according to reports. Escondida is majority owned by BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), with Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) holding a minority stake.
Elsehwere, China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) continued in expansion in January, as the mainland economy shows signs of stabilizing, reaching 51.3, down slightly from 51.4 in December, but still better than a Reuters poll forecasting 51.2. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Utilities, Healthcare and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher while losses in the Industrials, Basic Materials and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.54%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.09%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.02%.