Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday with Sydney hitting a fresh five-year intraday high, though a stronger yen weighed on Tokyo shares.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 37.83 points, or 0.3%, to 14,387.27
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index perked 16.58 points, or 0.1%, to 22,953.72
With a positive lead from the U.S., Asia was able to move slightly higher despite the absence of major trading cues. Stocks were moderating after strong gains earlier in the week brought about by further signs of a Chinese economic recovery and reduced expectations of a military intervention in Syria.
After rising 0.6% Wednesday to close at a multiyear high, the S&P/ASX 200 hit the highest intraday level in more than five years at 5,252.10, before closing slightly below that level.
The Australian dollar however, which hit a 10-week high overnight against its U.S. counterpart, tumbled after the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that number of people employed fell 10,800 in August, compared with an expected 10,000 rise. The Aussie recently changed hands at 92.58 U.S. cents, compared with 93.43 U.S. cents earlier in the session.
The yen strengthened overnight — below ¥100 to the dollar mark — and continued to firm in Asia. It was last at ¥99.54 to the dollar, compared with ¥99.89 late Wednesday in New York.
Shares in Mitsubishi Motors fell 8.1% in Tokyo after a Nikkei report said the auto maker is planning a ¥200-billion ($2-billion U.S.) public offering this fiscal year, in order to buy back preferred shares owned by four Mitsubishi group companies.
Electronics firm Sharp Corp. was also under pressure, losing 6%, after news reports said the company plans to raise up to ¥200 billion through an offering of shares in order to help cover a shortfall in its corporate pension plan in the current fiscal year and pay for bond redemptions in 2014.
Regional suppliers to Apple remained under pressure after Apple shares fell 5.4% overnight, following disappointment surrounding the firm’s latest iPhones. Foster Electric Company lost 4.1% in Japan and AAC Technologies Holdings dropped 4.2% in Hong Kong.
In other markets;
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 took on 24.57 points, or 1%, to 2,507.46
The Taiex Index in Taiwan gained 16.37 points, or 0.2%, to 8,225.36
Korea’s Kospi Index inched up 0.21 points to 2,004.06
The Singapore Straits Times Index recovered 12.89 points, or 0.4%, to 3,121.08
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index climbed 6.60 points, or 0.1%, to 4,641.50
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 8.15 points, or 0.2%, to 5,242.54
