Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed with Tokyo and Hong Kong continuing to show strength even with a poor US lead and concerns about Fed policy in 2018 on interest rates.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.48% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.13%. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s expected soft launch in Australia saw some retailers mixed. Harvey Norman was off 0.64% and Woolworths was higher by 0.04%.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.86% and the Hang Seng index edged up 0.07% above 30,000.
Federal Reserve officials expressed largely optimistic views of economic growth at their most recent meeting but also started to worry that market prices are getting out of hand and posing a danger to the economy.
Minutes from the November Federal Open Market Committee meeting indicated solid views on growth – the labor market, consumer spending and manufacturing all were showing solid gains. While there were disagreements on the pace of inflation, sentiment otherwise was largely positive.
“In their discussion of the economic situation and the outlook, meeting participants agreed that information received since the FOMC met in September indicated that the labor market had continued to strengthen and that economic activity had been rising at a solid rate despite hurricane-related disruptions,” the minutes stated.
However, when it came to evaluating market conditions, the talk took a more cautious tone.
“In light of elevated asset valuations and low financial market volatility, several participants expressed concerns about a potential buildup of financial imbalances,” the minutes stated. “They worried that a sharp reversal in asset prices could have damaging effects on the economy.”
Overnight, US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after a rally in tech was offset by a slump in financials as the Federal Reserve expressed concerns about high asset valuations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 23,526. The S&P 500 closed 0.08% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6867.36, up 0.07%.
In what was subdued day on Wall Street as volumes were light ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, investors digested mixed earnings reports which did little to lift sentiment on equities.
Despite posting earnings that beat estimates, HP Inc. fell more than 8% after CEO Meg Whitman announced she will leave her role early next year. Shares of Salesforce, meanwhile, slipped 1.82% as weak guidance offset better-than-estimated quarterly earnings.
On the economic front, upbeat initial jobless claims data was offset by a slump in durable goods orders for October.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims fell 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended Nov. 18, missing forecasts of a 10,000 increase.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.5% last month after an upwardly revised 2.1% increase in September.