Asian markets were mostly lower on Thursday as the dollar rose sharply and investors digest the Federal Reserve's first interest rate rise this year and its hawkish rate outlook for 2017.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index gained 20.18 points, or 0.1%, to 19.273.79,
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong tumbled 397.22 points, or 1.8%, to 22,059.40
Major Japanese automakers were an exception and traded higher, likely because of the weaker yen which would increase the value of profits earned overseas. Toyota was up 1.5% to 7,133 yen, Suzuki Motor was up 1.2% at 4,082 yen, while Honda was 1.3% higher at 3,521 yen per share.
Australian markets gave way, as the jobs market saw improvements in November, with employment up 39,100 compared to forecast calling for a 20,000-job gain. However, unemployment rates rose to a higher-than-expected 5.7% in November, compared to October's 5.6%.
Casino company Crown Resorts said its first half revenue would drop 12% due to a weaker VIP business segment, and announced that it would raise 1.6 billion Australian dollars ($1.18 billion U.S.) by selling shares in Melco Crown Entertainment. Shares of Crown Resorts were halted for trading today.
The Fed's 25 basis points rate hike was widely anticipated by the market, but it was the projected trajectory of three rate hikes for 2017 that raised concerns.
The spike in the U.S. dollar weighed on the yen which fell to a near 11-month low, at 117.51 against the greenback as of late Thursday afternoon, while the Australian dollar slipped to $0.7411.
The Bank of Korea held its key policy rate steady as expected at 1.25% for the six straight month. The central bank governor Lee Ju-yeol said that biggest concern is over the political scandal, which led to the parliament voting to impeach President Park Geun-hye, causing sentiment to worsen.
South Korea's top court has the final say on the impeachment and has started what may be a lengthy review.
Meitu, a China-based firm that has developed an app that helps touch up selfies, fell 4.2% to 8.41 Hong Kong dollars per share. It had opened higher at HK$8.78 compared to its IPO price of HK$8.50, which was priced at the bottom end its indicative range.
The photo editing company raised $629 million in its initial public offering and was valued at $4.6 billion U.S.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dropped 38.51 points, or 1.1%, to 3,340.43
In Korea, the Kospi fell behind 0.22 points at 2,036.65
The Straits Times Index in Singapore slid 23.29 points, or 0.8%, to 2,930.77
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index sank 8.17 points, or 0.1%, to 9,360.35
The NZX 50 ducked down 49.24 points, or 0.7%, at 6,748.62
Australia's ASX 200 deferred 46.04 points, or 0.8%, at 5,538.58
