Investing.com - Asian shares gained on Thursday, shrugging off a 2% dip overnight in crude prices and picking up some momentum on propspects of a weaker dollar as the Fed debates the pace of U.S. economic growth and inflation.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.01%. The ownership stakes proposed by a government-led consortium in Toshiba's memory chip busines showed the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan would own 50.1% and the Development Bank of Japan would hold 16.5%. Bain Capital and SK Hynix will have a share in the leftover 33.4%. The proposal potentially gives the latter two companies veto power, Nikkei said.
Shares of Toshiba were down a bit more than 2%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.42%, with energy and materials stocks showing signs of recovery after selling off in the previous session.
Markets in greater China traded in the green with the Hang Seng Index up 0.08% and the Shanghai Composite posting a 0.16% gain.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, pressured by a third-straight day of falling oil prices which weighed on the broader market while an unexpected uptick in U.S existing home sales failed to lift sentiment.
Energy stocks came under pressure, as crude settled 2.2% lower on the day, after hitting a 10-month low earlier during the session, despite bullish inventory data showing a larger than expected draw in US crude stockpiles.
Crude prices have fallen more than 20% since January, as investors continue question the effectiveness of the Opec deal to curb production amid an uptick in global production.
The slump in energy stocks overshadowed positive economic data showing that sales of existing homes rose 1.1% in May to an annual rate of 5.62 million.
Analysts had forecast U.S. existing home sales to decline by 0.5%.
In corporate news, Twitter Inc (NYSE:NYSE:TWTR) came into the spotlight, closing more than 5% higher, after Cleveland Research, a boutique equity research firm, said it sees indications that Twitter's advertisers and partners are encouraged by user growth on the site.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,401.85. The S&P 500 closed 0.06% lower while the Nasdaq Composite rose to 6233.95, up 0.74%.