Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday, with Australia’s jobs data for March beating expectations.
The Nikkei 225 recovered 21.7 points, or 0.1%, to 29,642.69.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.83 per U.S. dollar, stronger than levels above 109.6 against the greenback seen earlier this week
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 107.69 points, or 0.4%, to 28.793.14.
Australia’s unemployment rate for March came in at 5.6%, according to seasonally adjusted estimates released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday, against expectations of a 5.7% reading in an economist poll.
Data from the ABS also showed 70,700 net new jobs being created in March, more than double the forecast in an economist poll for a 35,000-job rise.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7751, having climbed from levels below $0.765 yesterday.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slid 31.66 points, or 0.6%, to 4,948.97
In Singapore, the Straits Times index regained 5.38 points, or 0.2%, to 3,184.77
In Korea, the Kospi index advanced 11.95 points, or 0.4%, to 3,194.33.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index leaped 210.76 points, or 1.3%, to 17.076.73
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 sank 114.83 points, or 0.9%, to 12,636.55.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 35.52 points, or 0.5%, to 7,058.62.
