Investing.com - Shares in Asia were mixed on Thursday with Sydney down despite slid jobs data and Tokyo only slightly in the green after a surprise jump in Australia jobs and with more Federal Reserve remarks ahead.
The Nikkei 225 was just in positive territory at a gain of 0.03%, while the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.15% and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.55%.
In Japan, the corporate goods price index fell 3.8% for October, compared with a fall of 3.5% seen year-on-year, as well as core machinery orders for September fell 1.7%, less than the decline of 4.0% seen year-on-year.
In Australia, employment data showed a whopping gain of 58,600 jobs in October compared with a gain of 15,000 jobs seen , dropping the unemployment rate to 5.9% from 6.2% in a participation rate of 65%, higher than the 64.9% expected.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.32%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.32%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.32%.
On Thursday, a host of FOMC members including Fed chair Janet Yellen are slated to make appearances at the Federal Reserve's two-day conference on Monetary Policy Implementation and Transmission in the Post-Crisis period. Yellen is scheduled to make the opening remarks on Thursday morning, while Fed chair Stanley Fischer is scheduled to deliver a speech on the transmission of exchange rates to output and inflation on Thursday evening.
Investors also await the release of data on U.S. retail sales, producer prices and consumer sentiment on Friday for further indications on whether the FOMC will approve a quarter-point rate hike when it meets next on Dec. 15-16. In recent months, Yellen has suggested that the Fed will employ a data-driven approach as it weighs its decision.
A rate hike is viewed as bearish for gold, which is not attached to dividends or interest rates. Gold struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in rising rate environments.