Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; China's September industrial profits data ahead

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday morning trade despite major indexes on Wall Street notching fresh record highs again overnight.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.13% while the Topix index shed 0.15%. South Korea's Kospi also slipped 0.2%.

Shares in Australia edged higher in morning trade as the S&P/ASX 200 rose fractionally. Australia's consumer price index for the third quarter is set to be out at 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded little changed.

China's industrial profits data for September is also poised to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.

Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15.73 points to a new record closing high of 35,756.88 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.18% to 4,574.79. The Nasdaq Composite rose fractionally to around 15,235.72.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.955 following a recent surge to levels around 94.

The Japanese yen traded at 114.16 per dollar, having weakened from below 114 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7515, off levels around $0.752 seen recently.

Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures slipping 0.41% to $86.05 per barrel. U.S. crude futures dipped 0.4% to $84.31 per barrel.