Asian markets had an uninspired finish on the final trading day of 2015, as investors kept an eye on oil prices for further clues going into 2016, after a turbulent year for stocks.
The Australian market, which closed early, shed 2.1% for the year as lower commodity prices hit many stocks on the main index.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 32.35 points, or 0.2%, to end the day, month and year at 21,914.40
The Hong Kong stock exchange operator also said on Thursday it will delist China Metal Recycling Holdings, a recycler of scrap metal, from the market, following alleged accounting fraud.
The Japanese and South Korean markets remain closed today. On Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 rounded off a 9.3% gain for 2015.
Resources producers were also mostly down with Rio Tinto off 0.2% and BHP Billiton sliding 1.3%. For the whole year, Rio Tinto shares were down 23% while BHP shares fell 49%.
CHINA
In China, markets were mostly down.
The CSI 300 Index dropped 34.17 points, or 0.9%, to 3,731.01
The yuan traded near flat at 6.492 against the dollar.
Chinese energy plays closed lower with Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC, PetroChina, and Sinopec Corp down between 0.6% and 1.6%.
Elsewhere, China Animal Healthcare, which is partly owned by Eli Lilly and Co, said it was looking for five years-worth of financial documents that were lost. A truck carrying the documents was stolen, according to reports. Its shares were not trading for the day.
The chairman and chief executive of China Telecom, the country's third-largest mobile operator, resigned yesterday. Prior to his resignation, Chang Xiaobing was detained by China's anti-graft watchdog.
Shares of China Telecom finished down 0.3%
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index subtracted 2.78 points, or 0.1%, to 2,882.73
Markets in Korea were off
Taiwan’s Taiex index regained 58.07 points, or 0.2%, to 8,338.06
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 picked up 4.87 points, or 0.1%, to 6,324.26
The ASX 200 fell 24.04 points, or 0.5%, to 5,295.90
