Asian stocks mixed ahead of possible Fed guidance

SINGAPORE (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as investors awaited more guidance on the U.S. Federal Reserve's easing plans.

The moves in Asia follow a pullback on Wall Street after the deadly attacks on Afghan civilians and U.S. troops at the Kabul airport on Thursday.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.4% to 27,641.14 while the Kospi in South Korea added 0.2% to 3,133.88. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.1% to 25,382.65 in afternoon trading.

The Shanghai Composite advanced 0.4% to 3,514.16. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 fell under 0.1% to 7,488.30. Benchmarks in India, Malaysia, Thailand rose while Indonesia and Singapore slipped.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later Friday. Any indicators when the bank will start scaling back on asset purchases will be watched.

Several Fed officials have suggested that the easing will take place sooner rather than later, although a firm timeline has not been set.

“Despite the ‘risk on’ mood heading into Jackson Hole, which arguably points to an accommodative enough Fed tilt to keep markets buoyed, thin trading in the U.S. bond markets this week suggests latent caution,” Hayaki Narita at Mizuho Bank said in a report.

“As overrated as Jackson Hole's significance may be, there is no denying that the quest for policy clarity will only gain momentum,” he added.

Investors are set for a new and busy week of economic releases, including U.S. jobs data for August and flash eurozone inflation figures. India, Australia and Canada will also report their second quarter economic growth.

"If the speech turns out to be a non-event, the follow-up market risk event will be the jobs report next week, which will provide more concrete data in steering the timeline of tapering...