Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Thursday, with shares in Hong Kong lagging among the region’s major markets.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 moved skyward 224.25 points, or 1%, to 23,647.07.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.94 per U.S. dollar after an earlier low of 106.10 against the greenback.
The Hang Seng Index retreated 49.51 points, or 0.2%, to 24.193.35.
Hong Kong-listed shares of SMIC fell 1.1% on Thursday after S&P Global Ratings placed the chipmaker on a negative credit watch. SMIC currently has a long-term issuer credit rating of "BBB-," according to S&P Global Ratings.
The ratings firm warned that the company could potentially face supply chain risks, with likely export restrictions from the U.S. It said it could lower the rating if the export restrictions "significantly disrupt" the firm’s wafer fabrication, limit its ability to expand capacity — among other factors that could weaken profitability.
The move downward in SMIC shares came as Chinese tech stocks in the city saw mixed moves: Xiaomi dropped 3.9%, Tencent was flat while Alibaba advanced 0.5%.
South Korean markets edged up, even as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics dipped 0.3%. The firm announced earlier its profit for the three months that ended in September likely rose 58% from a year ago.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7163 following an earlier low of $0.712.
In other markets
Markets in mainland China remained shuttered for holiday.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 4.75 points, or 0.2%, to 2,543.61.
In Korea, the Kospi added 5.02 points, or 0.2%, to 2,391.96.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index rocketed 140.82 points, or 1.1%, to 12,887.19.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 popped 219.77 points, or 1.8%, to 12,235.92.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gathered 65.66 points, or 1.1%, to 6,102.04.
