CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday in subdued post-Christmas trading as investors remained optimistic that the U.S.-China phase one trade deal will be signed in early January. The markets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong remained closed for holidays.
Chinese shares closed notably higher, with real estate stocks among the major gainers after Beijing eased norms for urban residency as part of its efforts to promote urbanization.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 25.47 points or 0.9 percent to close at 3,007.35.
Japanese shares also rose amid investor optimism that the global economy will improve as the U.S.-China trade tensions have eased.
The Nikkei 225 Index advanced 142.05 points or 0.6 percent to close at 23,924.92, while the broader Topix added 9.78 points or 0.6 percent to settle at 1,731.20.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp. advanced 1.2 percent and Fast Retailing added 0.5 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron rose 1.2 percent while Advantest declined 0.2 percent.
The major exporters gained on a weaker yen. Canon advanced 0.9 percent, Mitsubishi Electric rose 0.7 percent, Panasonic added 0.6 percent and Sony edged up 0.2 percent.
The Nikkei Asian Review reported that Nippon Steel plans to stop production of specialty steel for auto parts at a plant in China, with products now made at the plant to be supplied from Japan. Shares of Nippon Steel are down 0.2 percent.
According to media reports, three Japan Post Group leaders, including Japan Post Holdings President Masatsugu Nagato, are expected to resign over Japan Post Insurance Co.'s irregular insurance product sales. Shares of Japan Post Holdings are adding 0.7 percent.
Among the other major gainers, IHI Corp. gained 3.7 percent, while Mitsui OSK Lines and Z Holdings rose 2.8 percent each.
Seoul stocks closed higher amid optimism about U.S.-China trade ties. The benchmark Kospi rose 7.85 points or 0.4 percent to settle at 2,197.93.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics added 0.7 percent and chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.1 percent. LG Display Co. advanced 1.3 percent, while automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.4 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan closed flat with a negative bias. Indonesia is edging higher, while Singapore and Malaysia are modestly lower.
Overnight, the U.S. and European markets were closed for the Christmas Day holiday.
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