Investing.com - Asian equities were mixed in morning trade on Thursday after U.S. stocks closed higher overnight.
The S&P 500 closed higher Wednesday as energy stocks bounced back after oil prices rebounded from a more-than-a-year low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.92%.
Members of the FAANG stocks closed higher, with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) rose more than 1%.
Despite the gains, analysts said investor sentiment remained fragile as markets awaited further development in the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for the Federal Reserve to refrain from more rate hikes also received some focus.
"Markets experienced a better night last night, but it is fair to say that sentiment remains fragile," Daniel Gradwell from ANZ Research wrote in a morning note. "There seems a greater appreciation that with the impact of US fiscal stimulus waning, the US economy could slow like other major economies have. That leaves the market less forgiving of poor news."
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% after data showed the country’s core consumer prices jumped 1.0% in October from a year earlier, steady from the last month.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component fell 0.6% and 0.5% respectively by 11:15 AM ET (04:15 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flat at 25,958.00.
Hon Hai Precision, the biggest assembler of iPhones, reportedly said in an internal memo that it is planning to cut 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) from its 2019 expenses as it is facing “a very difficult and competitive year,” according to Bloomberg.
Apple’s shares plunged 24% below its October peak by Wednesday and are currently trading in the bear market territory.
The fall in its stock prices came after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut its price target for the technology giant for the third time this month because of weak iPhone demand in China and other emerging markets.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.4%.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.7%.