Asian shares mixed, eyes on US data

 Asian markets were mixed Wednesday, with Tokyo stocks dropping after the previous session's surge, as investors awaited US housing data and minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting. The yen rebounded in Asia after tumbling on the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) decision Tuesday to boost lending to commercial banks. Tokyo lost 0.52 percent, or 76.71 points, to 14,766.53, Seoul shed 0.20 percent, or 3.98 points, to 1,942.93, while Sydney gained 0.29 percent, or 15.4 points, to 5,408.2. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 1.11 percent, or 23.48 points, to 2,142.55 and the Shenzhen Composite Index -- which tracks stocks on China's second exchange -- gained 0.14 percent, or 1.58 points, to 1,157.20. Hong Kong reversed early losses to rise 0.34 percent, adding 76.8 points to 22,664.52. The BoJ announced Tuesday it would double the sum of loan schemes to banks in a bid to stimulate lending to firms and finance growth-stoking projects, such as environmental research and natural resources development, according to AFP.