Investing.com - Shares in Asia were narrowly mixed on Friday in a thin data day with investors also awaiting more data from China at the weekend.
China will report figures on industrial output and retail sales on Saturday that should further fillout readings on activity during the Chinese New Year.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.26%, while the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.46%. The Shanghai composite dipped 0.25%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed on a volatile, choppy day of trading as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi spooked global markets by vowing not to reduce rates any further after its Governing Council approved a wide range of stimulus measures on Thursday.
Earlier, the ECB unveiled a comprehensive set of easing initiatives on Thursday aimed at boosting economic growth throughout the euro zone and staving off deflation. The Governing Council used nearly all of the tools at its disposal to stimulate the economy by lowering three key rates at the meeting and extending the scope of its comprehensive Quantitative Easing program. Draghi's comments, however, triggered a sharp reversal on global equity and foreign exchange markets, as investors worried that Thursday's decisive moves could be the ECB's last attempts to rescue a flagging euro zone economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 5.23 or 0.03% to 16,995.13, while the S&P 500 Composite index gained 0.31 or 0.02% to 1,989.57. Previously, both the Dow and the S&P 500 closed higher in six of seven trading sessions dating back to last week. The Dow swung by as much as 300 points on Thursday. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, dipped by 12.22 or 0.26% to 1,989.57, as pharmaceutical and media stocks lagged.