Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Thursday with the Nikkei off slightly, but China and Hong Kong squeezing out morning gains.
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.36% in morning trade while the Shanghai Composite gained a slight 0.01% and the Hang Seng index was up 0.24%
In China, heavy industry related shares were down with Anhui Conch Cement (0914.HK) off 2.7% and Xinjiang Qingsong BM and Chemicals Group Co. Ltd. easing 0.9%, after data showed China March actual foreign direct investment that fell 1.47% to $12.24 billion.
In Japan, Softbank Corp. (9984.TOK) fell 1.1% after gaining 8.5% Wednesday.
Overnight, the Dow 30rose 1.00%, the S&P 500 index rose 1.05%, while the Nasdaq index rose 1.29%.
Recent sessions saw tech companies plunge on sentiments that valuations have grown too frothy during a five-year bull market.
Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech earlier that monetary authorities hope to see the unemployment rate at the end of 2016 reaching 5.2-5.6% and inflation at 1.7-2%, adding interest rates will stay low even as the economy improves before then to ensure maximum price and employment stability.
Elsewhere, U.S. industrial production rose 0.7% in March from February, beating expectations for a 0.5% reading, which supported stocks despite soft housing data.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that housing starts rose 2.8% in March to 946,000, missing analyst forecasts for a 6.4% increase to 973,000 units.
Separately, building permits, an indicator of future demand for housing, fell 2.4% in March to 990,000, defying market expectations for a 0.6% increase.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 1.48%, France's CAC 40 rose 1.39%, while Germany's DAX rose 1.57%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.65%.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to publish data on initial jobless claims and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.