Asian markets traded mixed Wednesday, with losses in energy plays amid fresh oil-price declines counterbalanced by gains in Japan shares as traders hoped for more stimulus from the central bank.

Oil shares around the region lost ground after crude oil futures settled at a two-month low of USD 43.20 a barrel, down 78 cents, in US trade overnight. Japan's Inpex shed 1.1 percent.

In Australia, major resources plays dropped sharply. BHP fell 2.2 percent, AWE lost 1.4 percent, LNG lost 4.5 percent and Woodside shed 1.2 percent. That weighed on the S&P ASX 200 index, which lost 0.3 percent.

Jeff Powell, chief investment officer at Polaris Greystone Financial blamed much of oil's decline on OPEC's failure to cut production.

"You've also seen a lot of efficiencies created as oil has dropped within the fracking segment of the US market, so a lot of the production that's going on in the U.S. really hasn't slowed down even though you have seen this material drop in oil price," Powell told CNBC.

However, he said that it's possible oil prices are bottoming, noting that he's "dabbling" in energy shares.

Japan shares were higher, with the Nikkei index tacking on 0.65 percent.

Traders there are likely to be hesitant as they await the outcome of the Bank of Japan's meeting at the end of the week. Many analysts expect the central bank to introduce further stimulus, which is likely to boost asset prices.

"There is a strong case for more QE at the 30th October meeting; the economy is stagnating and the target measure of inflation is below zero," Oxford Economics said in a note Tuesday.

"We expect a 20 trillion yen lift to annual asset purchases, taking the rate to 100 trillion yen. With the BOJ already owning a third of the stock of Japan government bonds any extra buying may be concentrated in other assets, such as REITs or ETFs."

Canon dropped 2.6 percent after cutting its full-year profit outlook Tuesday as demand for cameras in China and Southeast Asia failed to meet expectations.

In Korea, the benchmark Kospi index slipped 0.2 percent. Bucking the trend, LG Chem jumped 5.5 percent after the Nikkei Asian Review reported that the company was in talks with Tesla to supply batteries for the U.S. company's electric cars. In Japan, Tesla's current supplier, Panasonic, shed 3.0 percent.

Elsewhere in the region, Apple suppliers are likely to be in focus after the technology giant's quarterly earnings beat expectations as consumers in China snapped up iPhones. But the tech gian't shares slipped as its outlook disappointed.

The Nasdaq composite erased early gains to close down 0.1 percent as Apple slipped more than half a percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.2 percent, weighed by IBM's 4 percent fall after the firm disclosed the SEC is conducting an investigation into its accounting treatment of certain transactions. The S&P 500 closed 0.3 percent lower, weighed by energy stocks amid declines in oil.

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First Published:Oct 28, 2015 7:30 AM IST