Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Shares in Asia were mixed on Thursday despite US markets closing higher, boosted by Federal Reserve data which showed the US economy had returned to growth.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.28% at 20,529.94 points in early trade, reports BBC.
Earlier this week, the index ended its longest winning streak since 1988.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.59% at 5,550.80 points despite the positive lead from US stocks.
Investor sentiment in the country was hit earlier this week after the Reserve Bank of Australia gave no clear indication that it would cut its benchmark lending rate again soon.
Better-than-expected economic growth numbers released by the government on Wednesday further dampened investors’ hopes of a rate cute in the near future.
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index was flat, up just 0.03% at 2,063.75 points in early trade despite some positive economic growth data.
Latest figures from the country’s central bank showed growth in Asia’s fourth largest economy had marginally beaten estimates to expand 2.5% during the first three months of 2015 compared with a year earlier, boosted by construction and construction investment.
The Bank of Korea had estimated annual growth of 2.4% for the period.
Quarter-on-quarter growth came in at 0.8%, in line with expectations. Manufacturing and private consumption also contributed to the nation’s economic expansion.
Analysts had predicted that the country’s growth would remain soft in the first quarter of 2015 before picking up pace later in the year.
IN CHINA
The Shanghai Composite index closed flat on Wednesday after two previous sessions of strong gains.
A raft of initial share offerings this week was widely expected to draw liquidity from the mainland’s markets.
According to local reports, the share offerings are expected to lock up 8.3tn yuan ($1.34tn; £873bn) of cash.
Meanwhile, the largest shareholder in technology giant Lenovo is expected to gain approval for an initial public offering in Hong Kong today.
The Chinese conglomerate, Legend Holdings, aims to raise as much as $2bn from investors.
BBN/ZI/AD