Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Monday after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged attacks on Sunday, while investors assessed dovish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Powell announced a cut in the key interest rate on Friday, but did not reveal the extent or exact timing of the cut.

“It is time to adjust policy,” said the Fed chairman in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “The direction is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on upcoming data, the evolving outlook and the allocation of risks.”

Over the weekend, the Israeli Air Force attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, shortly before the Iran-backed armed group fired more than 320 rockets toward Israel.

Hezbollah said it was retaliation for Israel’s killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr last month.

However, the group signaled that it was not preparing for further attacks, while Israel’s foreign minister said the country did not want a full-scale war.

In Asia, investors will assess the Chinese central bank’s medium-term lending rates and Singapore’s manufacturing figures for July on Monday.

Japan’s Nikkei225 lost 0.91% in early trading, while the Topix fell 0.83%.

The South Korean Kospi rose 0.22 percent and the small cap Kosdaq rose slightly by 0.19 percent.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 started the day with a gain of 0.34%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Futures were at 17,733, higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,612.1.

On Friday, all three major indices in the US rose following Powell’s comments: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.14 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.47 percent. The S&P 500 rose 1.15 percent.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Yun Li contributed to this report.