Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday as investors remained cautious amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
By 11:35 am AEST (1:35 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was trading 0.2% lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% and South Korea's KOSPI 200 rose 1.7%.
Among data releases, South Korea added 184,000 jobs in August from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, marking the strongest employment growth in five months.
The number of employed people reached 29.15 million in August, up from 28.96 million a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
Meanwhile, China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% in August from a year earlier, accelerating from a 0.5% increase in July, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. The result was in line with market expectations.
Overnight in the U.S., major benchmark averages declined, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.2%, the S&P 500 losing 0.6% and the Nasdaq dipping 0.3%.
In commodities, ICE Brent crude rose 1% on Tuesday to settle at US$97.92 a barrel, while spot gold fell 1.1% to US$4,355.76 an ounce.
In China, the SSE Composite Index ticked up 0.2% to 3,940.6 on Tuesday, while the CSI 300 eased 0.4% to 4,558.7.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4% to 25,317.2, while India's BSE Sensex lost 0.7% to finish at a multi-month low of 75,577.6.
European markets also finished mixed on Tuesday. The UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.1% to 10,811.7, Germany's DAX ended flat at 26,007.6, while France's CAC 40 gained 0.1% to 8,318.0.
