Investing.com - Asian-Pacific shares were trading in a mixed fashion on Thursday, as US indices and bond markets remained closed in observance of the Juneteenth public holiday.
By 10:40 am AEST (12:40 am GMT) the ASX 200 and Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1% and 0.5% respectively while the KOSPI 200 added 0.1%.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude oil saw a minor decrease of 0.3% to US$85.07 a barrel, while gold also dipped slightly by 0.1% to US$2,328.16 per ounce.
In the local bond market, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds rose to 3.98%, with the 10 Year yield also seeing an uptick to 4.18%. U.S. Treasury notes remained stable, with the 2 Year yield at 4.71% and the 10 Year yield at 4.22%.
Chinese stocks ended the day lower, primarily due to underperforming consumer and software stocks. This follows the announcement from the Chinese securities regulator about the introduction of eight reform measures for the Star Market, the tech board modeled after Nasdaq. The Shanghai Composite Index, Shenzhen Composite Index, and the ChiNext Price Index all experienced losses.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 2.9% higher at 18,430.39, reflecting potential investor optimism about further action from Chinese authorities in the second half of the year.
Japanese stocks ended the day on a positive note, with auto and real estate stocks leading the gains. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.2% to 38,570.76. Investors are now focusing on comments from Japanese officials regarding the yen and monetary policy.
India's Sensex index closed marginally higher at 77,337.59, with gains in banking stocks offsetting losses in utility and steel stocks.
In the UK, stocks closed higher on Wednesday with the FTSE 100 Index rising 0.2% to 8,205.11. However, European shares saw a downturn, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index, Germany's DAX, and France's CAC 40 declining.