Back in Asia, Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were up 0.1 percent at 20,020 while Osaka futures were off 0.01 percent at 19,980 compared to the benchmark index’s Tuesday close of 19,999.91.
Australian SPI futures were down 1.13 percent at 5,623 against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close of 5,687.393.
Stateside, stocks closed mostly higher in the last session as earnings season continued.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 0.25 percent, or 54.99 points, to end at 21,574.73, the S&P 500 edged up 0.06 percent, or 1.47 points, to close at 2,460.61 and the Nasdaq gained 0.47 percent, or 29.87 points, to finish the session at 6,344.31.
In other currencies, the Australian dollar rose to trade at $0.7912 against the dollar at 6:47 a.m. HK/SIN following the central bank’s hawkish slant in minutes released Tuesdsay and the dollar’s weakness.
Oil prices rose as a decrease in exports from Saudi Arabia offset Ecuador’s decision to stop complying with OPEC-led production cuts. Brent crude futures rose 42 cents to settle at $48.84 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 38 cents to settle at $46.40.
In corporate news, shares of Rio Tinto were in focus. Analysts said Rio Tinto’s 2017 dividend could be the highest amount in the company’s history due to higher iron ore prices, the Australian Financial Review reported. The diversified miner lowered its guidance for iron ore exports on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, NetLink NBN Trust, Singapore’s largest IPO in 6 years, was due to be listed at 3:00 p.m. HK/SIN. The fiber optic cable owner is set to raise $2.3 billion Singapore dollars ($1.68 billion).
In economic news, the Bank of Japan begins a two-day policy meeting Wednesday.
Ahead, U.S. housing starts and oil stocks data from the Energy Information Administration are due during U.S. hours.