CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as a strong start to the U.S. earnings season and hopes for progress on the Brexit front helped investors shrug off worries about U.S.-China trade relations.
The pound held steady after British Prime Minister Theresa May's government survived a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Safe-haven assets such as gold and the yen rose after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies for allegedly stealing trade secrets from U.S. companies.
Chinese stocks ended lower as investors braced for GDP data release on January 21. Growth worries resurfaced after Premier Li Keqaing said the country is facing a challenging environment.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 10.79 points or 0.42 percent to 2,559.64 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 0.54 percent at 26,755.63.
Japanese shares reversed earlier gains to finish lower as automakers sagged on worries about U.S. tariff hikes on imports.
The benchmark Nikkei slid 40.48 points or 0.20 percent to 20,402.27 while the broader Topix index closed 0.35 percent higher at 1,543.20 on speculation the Bank of Japan may ramp up bond buying at next week's policy meeting.
Automakers sagged after a Republican senator told reporters that U.S. President Donald Trump is 'inclined' to move ahead with tariffs on imported vehicles. Toyota Motor shed 0.8 percent and Honda Motor edged down slightly.
Banks and other financial firms closed higher, tracking overnight gains among their U.S. counterparts. Daiwa Securities gained 1.3 percent and Nomura Holdings jumped 4.1 percent.
Australian markets hit over two-month high after Wall Street's major indexes hit one-month highs overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 14.90 points or 0.26 percent to 5,850.10, extending gains for the third straight session. The broader All Ordinaries index ended up 16.10 points or 0.27 percent at 5,909.80.
Banks ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac rose between 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent, tracking overnight gains among their U.S. peers.
Diversified miner South32 rallied 3.6 percent after its second-quarter coking coal output nearly doubled. BHP edged down 0.2 percent ahead of its second-quarter production report due next week, while rival Rio Tinto, which will unveil its quarterly production figures on Friday, added 1 percent.
Whitehaven Coal climbed 3.7 percent after it achieved record quarterly output. Woodside Petroleum gained 0.7 percent as it reported a 43 percent jump in fourth quarter sales revenue.
AGL Energy dropped 2 percent after it revealed a problem with heavy-metal levels detected in coal ash from its Hunter Valley power stations.
On the economic front, official data showed that the number of home loan approvals fell by 0.9 percent month on month in November. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.5 percent following the 2.2 percent jump in October.
Seoul stocks finished marginally higher as investors cheered strong earnings from Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group.
New Zealand shares gained ground, with milk product makers leading the surge after China signaled more stimulus measures in the near term. The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 50.37 points or 0.56 percent to 9,077.81. A2 Milk shares rallied 2.9 percent while Synlait Milk advanced 2.5 percent.
Overnight, U.S. stocks rose for a second straight session, reflecting positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from financial giants Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.
The Dow gained 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 edged up 0.2 percent to hit their highest levels in a month while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.2 percent.
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