Investing.com - Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday with investors noting Toyota shares up in Tokyo despite a downbeat earnings report.
The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.11%. Toyota forecast yesterday that profits for this year would fall by 20% because of slowing U.S. sales and increased marketing costs that saw shares down 1.50%.
However, Nomura maintained a "buy" on the stock on the basis of Toyota's share buyback plans. The company had announced that it would buy back 1.65% of its shares. Also in Japan, the unadjusted current account for March came in at a surplus of ¥2.908 trillion, wider than the ¥2.643 trillion seen.
In South Korea's benchmark Kospi index added 0.66% on Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.66%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.12%, but the Shanghai Composite was down 0.62%.
Markets in Indonesia are closed for a public holiday. Ahead, the market awaited the latest views from the European Central Bank after President Mario Draghi said on Tuesday it was too early for the ECB to suggest that euro zone inflation had met objectives and investors turned attention to the Bank of England’s quarterly report scheduled for Thursday, which will include its economic outlook, latest interest rate decision and minutes from the most recent policy meeting.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Financials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Healthcare, Consumer Services and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.16%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.11%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.14%.