Asia stocks mixed as China keeps benchmark lending rate unchanged

Asia stocks were mixed on Wednesday as China’s benchmark lending rate was left unchanged.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.79% to close at 20,595.15 while the Topix index gained 0.58% to end its trading day at 1,494.69. South Korea’s Kospi ended its trading day 0.46% higher at 1,989.64.

Mainland Chinese stocks edged lower on the day, with the Shanghai composite 0.51% lower at around 2,883.74 and the Shenzhen component down 0.94% to 10,948.48. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.1%, as of its final hour of trading.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.24% to close at 5,573.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was slightly higher.