Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Thursday with investors focused on nonfarm payroll data at the end of the week for a clearer indication on the health of the U.S. economy.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.42%, while the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.28%.
In Australia, HIA new home sales for February fell 5.3% with the previous month up 3.1% month-on-month.
As well private sector credit came in at a gain of 0.6%, beating the expected to show a 0.5% gain month-on-month.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.03% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was last down 0.45%.
The yuan rose against the dollar Thursday after the People's Bank of China set a stronger fixing for a third consecutive session at 6.4612 compared with 6.4841.
Overnight, U.S. stocks rose sharply on Wednesday, remaining near 2016-yearly highs as longstanding fears of excessive tightening by the Federal Reserve continued to recede following extremely dovish comments from Janet Yellen at a closely-watched speech.
The major indices continued their dramatic rally from January's major downturn, reaching new calendar year highs in Wednesday's session with one day left in the first quarter. While speaking in front of a luncheon at the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday, Yellen reiterated that she expects the Fed to maintain a cautious stance on future rate hikes in the coming years. Any rate hikes by the Fed this year are viewed as bearish for equities, as investors pile into lower risk U.S. Treasuries and other bonds in an effort to capitalize on higher yields.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 83.76 or 0.48% to 17,716.87, while the NASDAQ Composite index added 22.67 or 0.47% to 4,869.26, amid strong performances in software and internet stocks. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, rose 8.94 or 0.44% to 4,869.26, as seven of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Basic Materials, Technology and Consumer Services industries led, each gaining more than 0.5% on the session. Both the Dow and S&P 500 are up more than 10% from their February lows.