Investing.com - Shares in Asia were mixed on Thursday with Tokyo posting strong gains despite a bumpy ride for Toshiba shares as investors welcome a slightly weaker yen.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.11% even after Toshiba shares slipped 17.27 percent in morning trade on a Nikkei financial daily report the company was considering spinning off its semiconductor business and selling a partial stake in the unit to U.S. data storage firm Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC). Toshiba later said in a statement the report from Nikkei was not "based on any announcements" by the company.
China stocks edged down after two consecutive gaining sessions with the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.02%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased 0.52%.
Samsung (KS:005930) Group shares pulled back slightly after initially jumping at the South Korean market open, after a court dismissed a warrant to arrest the head of the conglomerate, Jay Y. Lee, amid his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that saw the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.24% after jobs data. In Australia, data for December showed 13,500 jobs added, beating a 10,000 gain forecast, while the participation rate ticked up to 64.7% from 64.6% and the unemployment rate also rose to 5.8% from 5.7%.
Late Wednesday in the U.S., Fed Chair Janet Yellen said she sees rate hikes "a few times a year" as the economy continues to recover until it reached the neutral rate which she expects by the end of 2019. "As the economy approaches our objectives, it makes sense to gradually reduce the level of monetary policy support," Yellen said in a speech prepared for the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, adding "changes in monetary policy take time to work their way into the economy."
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Financials and Industrials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Telecoms, Oil & Gas and Utilities sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.11%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.18%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.31%.