Asian Shares Mixed In Thin Holiday Trade

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed in thin trade on Thursday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell as the People's Bank of China kept the 1-year loan prime rate at 3.1 percent and the 5-year LPR at 3.6 percent despite economic concerns.

Sentiment remained underpinned elsewhere after the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a dovish policy outlook and Ukraine's President said his country is ready to implement pause in strikes on energy and infrastructure.

The Fed's commitment to cut interest rates weakened the dollar and lifted gold prices to another record high while oil prices extended their recent rebound.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.51 percent to 3,408.95 after BofA securities warned that China's stock rally may face a "meaningful correction soon."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 2.23 percent to 24,219.95, with tech and real estate stocks pacing the decliners.

Tencent Holdings lost 3.8 percent after it outlined plans to boost spending on AI infrastructure.

Seoul stocks rose, with the Kospi average finishing 0.32 percent higher at 2,637.10.

Samsung Electronics rallied 2.9 percent after the company pledged to strengthen its position in the high-bandwidth memory chip market in response to shareholder criticism.

Australian markets rallied as falling U.S. Treasury yields boosted demand for high-yielding banking stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.16 percent to 7,918.90, notching its best daily performance in six weeks.

The broader All Ordinaries index settled 1.16 percent higher at 8,148.90, with banks, gold miners and tech stocks leading the surge.

Data showed earlier today that Australia's unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent in February, but employment unexpectedly declined, raising concerns about labor market softness.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index finished marginally higher at 12,054.72 as fourth-quarter GDP data beat forecasts.

U.S. stocks ended higher overnight while Treasury yields slipped as the Fed held interest rates steady and signaled the possibility of two rate cuts by the end of the year, given increased uncertainty around the economic outlook.

The Fed also lowered its economic outlook for the year, marked up its inflation expectations and said it will start shrinking its balance sheet at a slower pace starting next month amid growing worries around tariffs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4 percent as an investor event reassured markets about demand for artificial intelligence computing. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1 percent and the Dow added 0.9 percent.