CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors digested a pair of disappointing reports on the U.S. economy and looked ahead to key non-farm payrolls data on Friday for direction.
The dollar remained under pressure ahead of the European Central Bank's rate decision later in the day and amid bets the Federal Reserve will deliver two quarter-point cuts by year-end, in October and December. Gold was little changed while oil edged up slightly on dollar weakness.
Chinese markets eked out modest gains, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump described Chinese President Xi Jinping as 'extremely hard' to strike a deal with.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 0.23 percent to 3,384.10 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.07 percent to close at 23,906.97.
Japanese markets ended lower as a 30-year bond auction saw the weakest demand since 2023, ramping up pressure on the government to adjust issuance.
The Nikkei average dropped 0.51 percent to 37,554.49 ahead of fifth round of trade talks with the U.S. over high tariffs. The broader Topix index settled 1.03 percent lower at 2,756.47.
Automakers Honda and Toyota fell around 2.7 percent each. Suzuki Motor tumbled 3 percent, with reports suggesting that it had suspended production of its Swift car due to China's rare earth restrictions.
Seoul stocks rose for a third straight session to hit an 11-month high as the new government vowed to restart talks with North Korea and beef up a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan.
The Kospi average jumped 1.49 percent to 2,812.05, with tech stocks leading the surge. Samsung Electronics rallied 2.3 percent and SK Hynix added 3.2 percent.
Australian markets fluctuated before ending marginally lower as April's trade balance figures missed expectations.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index climbed 0.66 percent to 12,577.15.
U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending mixed overnight while Treasury yields dipped as disappointing economic data raised concerns about the economic outlook but reinforced Fed rate cut bets.
Private sector jobs increased by just 37,000 in May - the slowest pace in more than two years, payroll processor ADP said.
'ADP NUMBER OUT!!! 'Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!!,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Another report showed the U.S. services sector contracted for the first time in nearly a year in May and businesses paid higher prices for inputs, raising fresh stagflation concerns.
The Dow slid 0.2 percent to snap a four-day losing streak, while the S&P 500 finished marginally higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3 percent.
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