Asia shares cautious

Asian share markets were narrowly mixed on Wednesday as investors anxiously awaited another batch of Chinese data while strength in the U.S. dollar kept the screws on global commodity prices.

Markets will be vulnerable to any whiff of disappointment in Chinese figures on retail sales, industrial production and urban investment, particularly given recent downward surprises on inflation and trade. ECONCN

Concerns about Chinese demand were evident in Japan where a Reuters survey showed confidence among manufacturers fell in November for a third straight month to levels unseen in about 2-1/2 years.

Japan's Nikkei .slipped 0.3 percent, though that follows a run of strong gains.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.1 percent having sunk to a one-month low on Tuesday. Australian stocks eked out a 0.3 percent gain after two sessions of losses.

Wall Street offered no direction after a flat finish. The Dow. ended Tuesday with a slight gain of 0.16 percent, while the S&P 500.added 0.15 percent and the Nasdaq. eased 0.24 percent.