Central banks held sway on Thursday, as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged and China's People's Bank raised its benchmark rate. Markets throughout the region ended little changed.
The Nikkei ended up 1.09 point at 15,031.60 while the Topix index added 0.1 percent to 1,457.56, as the Bank of Japan held its overnight target rate unchanged at 0.5 percent and downgraded its assessment on the economy.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended little changed, shedding 12 points to 27,017.09. The China Enterprises Index, reflecting shares of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, climbed 0.6 percent at 15,732.78.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ added 2.3 percent while shares of fellow megabank Mizuho Financial Group were up 1.9 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group jumped 3.6 percent.
Shares of China National Materials Company Ltd., or Sinoma, the mainland's largest provider of cement equipment and engineering services, jumped 35 percent to HK$6.07 in first-day trading.
Shares of freight mover Baltrans Holdings surged 40.7 percent to a record HK$7.60, matching the per-share offer price of a takeover bid by Australia's Toll Holdings Ltd.
Shares of staffing agency Pasona Group Inc. fell 8.4 percent on concerns it may facer stiffer competition after The Nikkei business daily reported rival recruitment agency Recruit Co. is nearing a takeover of the nation's leading human resources firm, Staff Service Holdings Co.
Gainers in Hong Kong also included SCMP Group Ltd. Shares jumped 8.8 percent in resumed trading after parent company Kerry Group Ltd. offered to pay HK$2.75 to buy all the existing shares it does not already own.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: India's Sensex index was up 0.4 percent at 19,165.75.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi shed 0.9 percent.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted Price index fell 2 percent to 7,857.08.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6 percent to close at 6,176.9.
Markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia were closed for public holidays.
with files from other wire services
