Asian benchmarks trade mixed ahead of US Fed chair's speech

Asian shares are trading mixed, despite some optimism following a rally on Wall Street on better-than-expected profit reports from major companies. Trading is likely to stay relatively quiet ahead of the annual conference of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give a much-anticipated speech that will hopefully offer clues about how deeply and quickly the Fed will begin cutting interest rates. Shares rose Thursday in Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong, but fell in Seoul and stagnated in Shanghai. The Bank of Korea is holdings its monetary policy meeting, where no rate action is expected.