Stock exchanges across the Asia-Pacific region were mixed in the afternoon trading hours on Thursday as investors dissected hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the latest economic data releases.
Retail trade in Japan expanded, with the overall consumer confidence in the country growing, seemingly boosting Nikkei 225 to rise by 0.44% at 7:18 am CET.
On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.28%, and South Korea's Kospi saw a 0.21% loss at the same time. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.61%, while the Shenzhen Composite was up 0.39%. Australian S&P/ASX 200 was flat.
The American dollar stood unchanged against the Japanese yen, to sell at ¥144.55750 at 7:21 am CET.
