Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 hit a fresh August high before reversing course to end marginally lower. While financials declined on interest-rate jitters, soaring gold prices boosted mining stocks.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended down 0.18 percent at 13,489.24 as investors pondered over the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies and attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve.