Mainland and Hong Kong shares were mixed after US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell doused hopes of an interest rate cut.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened lower at 24,982.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.3 percent to open at 3,604 while the Shenzhen Component Index opened 0.05 percent higher at 11,208.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was up 0.65 percent to open at 2,382.

In Tokyo, Japan's Nikkei share average gained in early trading as market participants focused on the Bank of Japan's policy statement due later in the day for interest rate clues.

The Nikkei rose 0.5 percent to 40,842 by midday while the broader Topix gained 0.4 percent.

In Sydney, shares slipped, led by mining stocks, as appetite for risk assets declined and the deadline for a trade deal with the United States loomed.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5 percent to 8,713 by midday. The benchmark, however, was on track for a fourth consecutive month of gains.

Powell cautioned on Wednesday that it's still too early to tell whether the central bank will lower interest rates in September, tempering the market's growing hopes for a rate cut. (AFP/Xinhua)