Investing.com - Asian shares were narrowly mixed on Thursday as the closely-watched vote on Britain's membership in the European loomed on the day with the remain camp seen leaning ahead.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.48%. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.24% and the Shanghai Composite eased 0.44%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks pared earlier gains on Wednesday to close slightly lower for the session with the Brexit campaign a cause of uncertainty.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48.90 or 0.27% to 17,780.83, while the S&P 500 Composite index lost 3.45 or 0.17% to 2,085.45, as investors remained cautious ahead of Thursday's historic referendum in the U.K.
The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, dropped 10.44 or 0.22% to 4,833.32, despite a surge in biotech stocks. On the S&P 500, seven of 10 sectors closed in the red, as stocks in the Energy and Utilities industries lagged. Stocks in the Health Care and Telecommunications sectors led, each gaining more than 0.15% on the session.