Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Thursday with tension on the Korean peninsula weighing and regional data hitting sentiment in Japan.
South Korea's Kospi fell more than 1%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.26%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1.69%, while mainland markets saw the Shanghai Composite dip 1.04%.
In Japan, core machinery orders dropped 1.9% on month in June, well below the 3.7% gain seen and fell at 5.2% pace annually compared to a 1.0% drop seen. As well, producer prices in Japan rose 0.3% on month in July, a tick higher than the 0.2% gain seen and at a 2.6% gain on year, also beating expectations.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.21%.
Overnight, the Dow added to losses from the prior session on Wednesday, as investors fled risky assets amid rising geopolitical tensions after North Korea ignored President Trump’s warning that further threats to the United stated “will be met with fire and fury”.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 22,048.70. The S&P 500 closed 0.04% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6352.33, down 0.28%.
Safe-haven demand rose after North Korea said it was "carefully examining" a plan to strike Guam, where a U.S. military base is located, shrugging off President Donald Trump’s earlier warning that further threats to the United States will be met with "fire and fury."
The last big wave of corporate earnings is expected later this week as Macy’s kicks off department store earnings on Thursday, During the first quarter, Macy's (NYSE:NYSE:M), Kohl's and other big department store chains posted disappointing earnings which saw Macy’s stock price tank more than 14%.