Asian markets turn mixed with Warsh speech in focus

Most Asian equity markets drifted lower on Friday as traders held back ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's keynote at the Jackson Hole symposium, according to Mettis Global. Japan's Nikkei 225 bucked the trend with a 0.19% gain, and the Topix added 0.39%. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.16%, while its Kosdaq was little changed, CNBC data showed.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.25%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng opened 0.32% weaker and mainland China's CSI 300 lost 0.2%. Attention is now centred on Warsh's address to the Fed's yearly Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming, where investors expect clues on the US economy, monetary policy and interest rates. The timing is sensitive because futures traders put the chance of the Fed holding rates steady at its next meeting near 64%, based on CME FedWatch figures.

US stock futures were close to flat overnight after a strong Thursday session, when indexes gained on the back of Nvidia's nearly 9% jump following its earnings report. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%, Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.2% and Dow futures were marginally lower. Thursday's advance took the tech sector, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to their best daily showing since August 4, leaving all three major indexes on course for a positive week.