Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Thursday in the face of regional data that showed solid job gains in Australia and weak trade in Japan, but with investors mulling the latest minutes on monetary policy from the FOMC for direction.
Australia, employment change figures for July showed a jump of 26,200, well above the expected gain of 11,000 jobs and helping the unemployment rate dip to 5.7% from an unchanged 5.8% seen with the participation rate of 64.9% as expected. In China, house prices for July rose 7.9%, better than the previous month up 7.3% year-on-year.
Earlier in Japan, the adjusted trade balance surplus for July came in at ¥320 billion, wider than the ¥140 billion seen as imports imports plunged 24.7%, more than the expected 20.6% year-on-year decline for the 19th decline in-a-row, while exports fell 14.0% as seen, the 10th straight drop, for an overall trade balance surplus of ¥514 billion.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.34% and the Nikkei 225 fell 0.88%. The Shanghai Composite bucked the trend, up 0.41%
Overnight, U.S. stocks were flat on Wednesday, as markets disregarded opaque minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, which portrayed a committee largely split on the timing of the U.S. central bank's next interest rate hike.
When the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) last met on July 26-27, some members anticipated that economic conditions would soon warrant "taking another step in removing policy accommodation," the minutes showed. It came as some participants judged that market conditions were close to reaching full employment, while most members noted that the rapid recovery of global financial markets in the wake of the Brexit decision provided encouraging signs on the resilience of markets worldwide. At the same time, others emphasized that it was appropriate to wait for additional data to determine whether prices could firm in the coming months, as long-term inflation continues to run below the Fed's long-term goal of 2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 21.92 or 0.12% to 18,573.94, while the S&P 500 Composite index added 1.55 or 0.03% to 5,228.66, as both indices crept higher after the release of the minutes. On the S&P 500, seven of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Utilities, Consumer Goods and Financials industries led. Stocks in the defensive-minded Utilities industry surged by more than 1.3% on the session.
The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, ticked up 1.55 or 0.03% to 5,228.66, remaining near all-time record highs. By the same token, there was muted reaction on both bond and foreign exchange markets, as the U.S. Dollar and U.S. 10-Year Treasury yields remained relatively unchanged after the release.