Asia-Pacific equity markets were forced to look inward after testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that contained no real surprises.

A few unexpected words from Mr Bernanke can have markets racing, but in Wednesday’s Capitol Hill testimony the Fed chairman merely reiterated that plans to scale back stimulative measures weren’t tied to a pre-set timetable. US markets were relieved with both stocks and bonds rising, but there was little follow-through in Asia.

Crédit Agricole said Mr Bernanke’s comments created a positive backdrop for the region in the absence of other driving factors.

Mr Bernanke’s appearance before the House Financial Services Committee was the first of two Congressional outings for the Fed chairman this week, with a repeat performance in front of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

With no press conference planned for the July Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the testimony from Mr Bernanke will be the Fed’s best communications opportunity for some weeks.

Indications of stronger economic growth and job creation in the US economy are paving the way for theFed to throttle back its easy monetary policy. That should eventually allow traders to focus on economic fundamentals, rather than reading the runes of central bank officials. But until the Fed successfully negotiates an exit, markets are likely to remain in thrall to the words of Mr Bernanke.

In China and Hong Kong, the Shanghai and Hang Seng indices were 1.1 and 0.1 per cent lower, respectively, after the International Monetary Fund warned that China was “too reliant on investment and credit” and urged swift reforms.

Meanwhile, fresh data showed new home prices in China rose in 63 of the 70 cities surveyed in June versus May, which could spur Beijing to implement new measures to cool the property market.

Overall, new home prices were up 6.8 per cent from one year ago, versus forecasts of 6 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, even though China’s broader economy is slowing.

And overnight, Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei said China wouldn’t resort to large-scale fiscal stimulus to prop up the economy, lending further support to the bears.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was up 0.5 per cent.

SoftBank, which accounts for more than 5 per cent of the index, led with a 4.7 per cent gain after announcing a fuel cell joint venture with California-based Bloom Energy.

The yen was slightly weaker, helping exporters, down 0.16 per cent to Y99.75 per US dollar.

In South Korea, the Kospi Composite was heading lower with a 0.5 per cent decline. In Australia, the ASX 200 was 0.3 per cent higher with Discovery Metals climbing 9.7 per cent.