“Everyone is sprinting toward the same conclusion: the Fed will deliver holiday cheer,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was unchanged at 50,172.60, with AI-linked stocks including Kioxia Holdings, Fujikura and Lasertec among the decliners.
Government data showed Tokyo’s year-on-year core inflation in November remained at 2.8%, unchanged from October and above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. That reinforces expectations of a gradual shift by the central bank to higher interest rates, although a rate hike is not expected at the Bank of Japan's December meeting.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.4% to 3,930.95. Data showed the country’s industrial production fell 4% month-on-month in October, more than the 1.1% decline in September. Semiconductor production plunged 26.5% month-on-month, pushing down tech stocks like LG Energy Solutions, SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics.
In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.2% to 25,896.33. The Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.2% to 3,883.46.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.1% to 8,608.90, while Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.9%. India's BSE Sensex was up 0.1%.
Shares in Europe advanced Thursday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
On Wednesday, before the trading holiday in the U.S., stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street. The S&P 500 gaining 0.7% and the Dow up 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite added 0.8%.
U.S. benchmark crude oil added 43 cents to $59.08 per barrel.
Early Friday, Brent crude, the international standard, rose 21 cents to $63.08 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 156.34 Japanese yen from 156.31 yen. The euro fell to $1.1584 from $1.1596.