Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday as investors assessed regional economic data and looked ahead to a closely watched United States inflation report, while technology stocks in South Korea rebounded strongly following a difficult week for the sector.
By 11:50 am AEST (1:50 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3%, Japan's Nikkei 225 lifted 3.6%, while South Korea's KOSPI 200 advanced 5.5%.
South Korean technology stocks led regional gains, with SK Hynix surging 7.8% after announcing plans for a major U.S. stock market listing.
The rally in technology shares prompted South Korea's exchange operator to activate a buy-side sidecar mechanism for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), a measure used to moderate sharp market movements.
Economic data from South Korea was less encouraging, with business confidence declining for the first time in three months.
The Bank of Korea reported that the Composite Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) for all industries fell 1.2 points to 97.7 in June from a three-and-a-half-year high of 98.9 in May.
Weakness in the construction and travel sectors weighed on sentiment.
In Australia, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 4.4% in May, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The Australian economy added 40,300 jobs during the month, comfortably ahead of market forecasts for an increase of 30,000 positions.
Investors also monitored developments on Wall Street after major U.S. benchmarks finished mixed overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.4%.
Market participants are awaiting the release of the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, later in the session.
Commodity markets remained under pressure on Wednesday. ICE Brent crude fell 4.6% to settle at US$73.87 per barrel, its lowest level since 27 February. Spot gold declined 2.7% to US$3,998.54 per ounce, marking its lowest settlement since 7 November 2025.
Elsewhere in the region, mainland Chinese equities posted modest gains. The SSE Composite Index rose 0.1% to 4,110.8, while the CSI 300 added 0.5% to 4,943.0.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.3% higher to 23,412.2, while India's BSE Sensex climbed 1.0% to finish at 76,991.2.
European markets delivered a mixed performance overnight. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to close at 10,461.6, France's CAC 40 added 0.5% to 8,385.5, while Germany's DAX fell 0.6% to 24,740.4.
