According to RTHK, Reuters and the Hong Kong Economic Times, Asian equities opened mixed on Wednesday as Wall Street's overnight decline and caution ahead of U.S. inflation data set the tone; the dollar index hovered near 100 and gold pushed toward record highs.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 opened little changed, trading around 66,911.93, down 58.29 points or 0.09%, as the market steadied after the prior holiday. A Reuters poll showed Japanese manufacturers' business mood improving on the semiconductor boom.

Seoul's KOSPI led regional gains, opening sharply higher at about 6,503.55, up 158.02 points or 2.49%, extending its recent advance. The rally came despite reports that the Bank of Korea may raise interest rates further.

Hong Kong stocks opened lower, with the Hang Seng Index around 25,345.55, down 307.27 points or 1.20%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index off about 0.8%. U.S.-listed ADRs of Alibaba, Tencent and Ping An had each slipped about 1% overnight.

Taipei's TAIEX opened firm near 45,358.67, up 237.95 points or 0.53%, briefly approaching 45,500, led by TSMC, which rose to 2,400.00, up NT$5.00 or 0.21%.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite edged up to about 3,936.66, up 2.57 points or 0.07%, the Shenzhen Component gained 0.75% to 14,366.58, and the CSI 300 rose 0.28% to 4,676.62.