Shares in major Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday, though tech stocks in the region took a hit following a selloff in the sector overnight on Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 put an end to its losing streak with a gain of 324.36 points, or 1.1%, to 28,729.88.
Technology stocks elsewhere in the region also declined. In Japan, shares of conglomerate Softbank Group dropped 2.8%.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.10 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels below 108.6 against the greenback seen earlier this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 18.53 points, or 0.1%, to 27,899.61.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi plunged 4.4% on Thursday. The losses came despite the company reporting a 36.7% rise in its fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday.
Adjusted net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 came in at about 3.2 billion yuan (about $490 million U.S.). That was above analysts’ expectations of 2.9 billion yuan/
Other Chinese tech stocks also declined. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese search giant Baidu plunged 9.7%, just days after a muted debut in the city. Tencent dropped 2.8% while Alibaba fell 3.9%.
The pressure on Chinese tech stocks came as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday the adoption of measures that would remove foreign companies from American stock exchanges if they do not comply with U.S. auditing standards. That could have an impact on dual-listed Chinese firms such as Baidu and Alibaba.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7598, as compared to levels above $0.765 seen earlier in the week.
In other markets
In China, the CSI 300 dropped 2.34 points, or 0.1%, to 4,926.35
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 28.02 points, or 0.2%, to 16,060.14.
In Korea, the Kospi index regained 11.98 points, or 0.4%, to 3,008.33.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index eked up 8.4 points, or 0.3%, to 3,141.71.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recouped 29.18 points, or 0.2%, to 12,388.06
In Australia, the ASX 200 added 11.79 points, or 0.2%, to 6,790.56.
