Asian stock markets are mixed on Thursday as investors treaded cautiously ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that starts later in the day.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak on Friday at the symposium and investors will keep a close eye on her remarks for clues about the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
The Australian market is declining, tracking the negative lead overnight from Wall Street and fall in crude oil prices. Investors also digested mostly weak corporate earnings results.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 11.30 points or 0.23 percent to 5,549.10, off a low of 5,536.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 14.50 points or 0.26 percent to 5,639.10.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton is losing 2 percent, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are down more than 2 percent each.
South32 posted a full-year net loss of $1.62 billion on a pro-forma basis, following heavy writedowns. Shares of the mining company, spun off from BHP Billiton, are lower by more than 2 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is declining more than 3 percent, while Evolution Mining is adding almost 1 percent.
Among oil stocks, Santos and Oil Search are losing more than 2 percent each and Woodside Petroleum is down 0.2 percent.
In the banking sector, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are lower in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.8 percent.
Billabong reported a full-year loss on higher tax expenses and said it will not pay a dividend. Shares of the surfwear manufacturer are losing more than 11 percent.
CIMIC has agreed to sell its 29 percent stake in Nextgen Group to majority shareholder Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and expects net proceeds of between A$190 million to A$210 million. The construction company's shares are edging down 0.06 percent.
Nine Entertainment reported a turnaround to profit in the full year. The company's shares are gaining almost 5 percent.
Woolworths slipped to a full-year loss of more than A$1 billion following a big decline in earnings from its Australian food and drink business as well as on hefty writedowns. However, the supermarket giant's shares are rising more than 7 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as the market considers the prospects of a US rate hike. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7615, up from US$0.7596 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is modestly lower, paring some of its gains from the previous session.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 45.44 points or 0.27 percent to 16,551.86, off a low of 16,520.84 earlier.
Among the major exporters, Toshiba is declining 0.4 percent, Sony is down almost 1 percent and Panasonic is lower by more than 1 percent, while Canon is up 0.3 percent.
Automaker Toyota is lower by 0.2 percent, while Honda is adding 0.1percent. Fast Retailing is declining 0.5 percent, while SoftBank is rising more than 1 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is lower by 0.6 percent. In the oil sector, Inpex and JX Holdings are both losing more than 1 percent each.
Among the other major gainers, Kobe Steel is rising more than 2 percent and Minebea is advancing almost 2 percent.
Meanwhile, Toho Zinc is losing almost 5 percent, Shiseido Co. is lower by 4 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is down almost 4 percent.
Recruit Holdings' shares are losing almost 5 percent after its major shareholders said they will sell about $2.5 billion of shares in the company.
In economic news, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices in Japan were up 0.4 percent on year in July. That beat expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent following the 0.2 percent gain in June.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 100 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai and Hong Kong are lower, while South Korea is flat. Singapore, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Wednesday following the release of a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a substantial decrease in existing home sales in the month of July. Negative sentiment was also generated by a sharp drop in the price of crude oil.
The Dow fell 65.82 points or 0.4 percent to 18,481.48, the Nasdaq slid 42.38 points or 0.8 percent to 5,217.69 and the S&P 500 dropped 11.46 points or 0.5 percent to 2,175.44.
The major European markets finished mixed on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both rose by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday after the EIA reported an unexpected buildup of crude oil inventories. WTI crude for October delivery tumbled $1.33 or 2.8 percent to $46.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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