Asian markets were mixed, following a relatively quiet overnight trading session as US markets had been closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Investors also kept an eye on Chinese markets, which bounced back after taking a tumble in the last session.

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Markets on the move

Japan's Nikkei 225 was lower by 0.47 percent as markets reopened for trade after a day off. Losses were seen in trading houses, banks, manufacturing and retail names. Technology stocks were a mixed picture: Nintendo rose 1.98 percent, SoftBank Group edged up 0.46 percent and Sharp was down 0.98 percent.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi tacked on 0.03 percent, with tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics off by 0.07 percent. Brokerages and financials were slightly lower.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.24 percent. Most sub-indexes hovered around the flat line. The industrials and information technology sub-indexes, however, fell 0.62 percent and 0.82 percent respectively.

Chinese equities were in focus after greater China markets recorded sharp declines in the last session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index clawed back gains to climb 0.69 percent after closing 1 percent lower on Thursday. Still, the index remained below the 30,000 mark it topped for the first time in a decade earlier this week.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.08 percent and the Shenzhen Composite was higher by 0.23 percent. The blue-chip CSI 300 index, which had suffered its largest one-day fall since June 2016 in the last session, gained 0.19 percent.

A mix of tighter lending rules and firmer bond prices were seen as reasons for declines in the last session. Market watchers said shares that were sold off on Thursday had in fact risen in the past weeks and continued to possess relatively good fundamentals despite falling on Thursday.

European equities closed little changed on Thursday, with trade volumes weaker than usual. The pan-European STOXX 600 finished the session up 0.02 percent. In individual markets, France's CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 edged down 0.02 percent by the end of the day.

US markets have a shortened trading day on Friday.

The lead up

On the data front, the European composite Purchasing Managers' Index released overnight rose to 57.5 in November. A Reuters poll had projected the figure to remain unchanged from October's reading of 56. That showing suggested broad-based recovery in the euro zone.

The euro held onto most overnight gains after strengthening for a third consecutive session on Thursday on the back of the upbeat economic indicators. The common currency traded at USD 1.1847 at 9:51 a.m. HK/SIN after climbing as high as USD 1.1855 overnight.

More generally, the dollar remained on the back foot against a basket of six major currencies as cautious minutes from the Federal Reserve released Wednesday continued to weigh on the currency. The dollar index stood at 93.186 at 9:31 a.m. HK/SIN, compared to Thursday's close of 93.118. Against the yen, the greenback was a touch firmer at 111.32.

Corporate news

Australian department store chain Myer's annual general meeting is set to take place on Friday as its board faces off against Solomon Lew, a dissident shareholder unhappy with the company's strategy. Lew's Premier Investments group has a 10.77 percent stake in Myer, according to local media. Shares of Myer were flat.

Also in retail news, e-commerce giant Amazon launched trial operations in Australia on Thursday, Reuters reported. An Amazon employee declined comment on the matter, the wire service said.

Meanwhile, shares of Mitsubishi Materials tumbled 9.05 percent after the company acknowledged that some of its units falsified product data to meet requirements. That news came on the back of a data falsification scandal at Kobe Steel.

SenseTime Group, a Chinese artificial intelligence company, intends to launch an initial public offering, Reuters reported on Thursday. SenseTime is also attempting to expand in the US, with plans to begin a research and development unit in the country as early as 2018 in the works.

The commodities trade

US West Texas Intermediate tacked on 0.6 percent to trade at USD 58.37 per barrel, near the two-year high of USD 58.58 touched in the previous session. While Thursday trade had been lighter than usual, prices had been supported by the closure of the Keystone pipeline, as well as the drawdown in US inventories.

Brent crude futures edged down 0.16 percent to trade at USD 63.45.

What's on tap

Here's the economic calendar for Friday (all times in HK/SIN):

12:00 p.m.: Malaysia October inflation rate

1:00 p.m.: Singapore October industrial production

4:30 p.m.: Taiwan third-quarter GDP growth

7:30 p.m.: India foreign exchange reserves

First Published:Nov 24, 2017 7:35 AM IST