Asian stocks mostly higher after Wall Street decline

The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,125-point plateau, and the market is looking at another green light again on Tuesday.

Global stocks were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street declined and China said it will give foreign investors more access to Chinese equities through Hong Kong. The Commerce Department said the pace of home construction grew by the most since February.

KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9 percent to 16,748.93 points and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.4 percent to 5,497.40.

Among the actives, Ping An Insurance spiked 3.84 percent, while China Life soared 3.54 percent, Li & Fung perked 3.36 percent, China Resources Land advanced 2.82 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties jumped 1.48 percent, Sands China dropped 2.75 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 1.67 percent, Lenovo Group climbed 1.30 percent and HSBC eased 0.09 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 34.90 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,227.11.

Chinese credit data was well-received and there was hope for a pending announcement of a trading link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Indeed, China’s notoriously speculative markets were little fazed by the news, with Shenzhen ending only modestly higher and Hong Kong stocks slipping.

But Hong said the central government is unlikely to carry out stimulative measures, since the market was not short of money and Chinese leaders have pledged to curb asset bubbles. The ChiNext Index rose 3.3 percent after the Hong Kong Economic Journal said small-cap shares in Shenzhen will be included in the link and the start date may be announced as soon as this week.

FED WATCH: Investors looked ahead to Wednesday’s release of notes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting for insight into the debate among board members over when to raise rates.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude shed 29 cents to $46.29 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 84 cents on Tuesday to $46.58.

The IT sector jumped almost 2 per cent, while energy shares were firm on the higher oil prices.

The banking sector dropped 2 percent on profit-taking, following the previous session’s jump.