Asia-Pacific markets close mixed as investors bet on Fed rate cut

Asia-Pacific markets mostly closed lower Thursday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped by 0.37% to close at 25,519.32, while mainland China's CSI 300 index was flat at 4,173.31.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi index closed flat at 3,225.66, while the small-cap Kosdaq ticked up 0.14% to 815.26.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 benchmark advanced 0.53% to 8,8738.80, after hitting an intra-day high earlier in the session.

Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark declined by 1.45% to end the day at 42,649.26, while the broader Topix index lost 1.1% to 3,057.95.

Over in India, the 50-stock benchmark Nifty 50 was up 0.12%, while the BSE Sensex index ticked up 0.11% as of 1:40 p.m. Indian Standard Time (4:10 a.m. ET).

— Amala Balakrishner

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 1.45% lower at 42,649.26 Thursday, reversing course from the record gains it posted in its previous two sessions.

The worst performing stocks on the blue-chip index were Socionext which plunged 8.39%, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which declined 5.69% and Kawasaki Heavy Industries which lost 5.31%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended the 0.53% higher at 8,873.80, paring gains from its record intra-day high of 8,891.10 earlier in the session.

The 200-stock benchmark was buoyed by gains in the banking sector.

Shares of Westpac Banking rose 6.31%, while Suncorp Group advanced 3.64%, AMP added 2.31% and National Australia Bank increased by 1.89%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Indian stocks were little changed near midday.

The 50-stock benchmark Nifty 50 was trading near the flatline, while the BSE Sensex index was up around 0.1% as of 11:48 a.m. Indian Standard time (2:18 a.m. ET).

— Amala Balakrishner

Australia's unemployment rate eased to 4.2% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in July, in line with estimates of economists polled by Reuters.

The reading was lower than the 4.3% recorded in June, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed.

Meanwhile, the number of employed individuals rose by 24,500 in July, from a revised increase of 1,000 the month before.

That latest reading still missed market forecasts of a 25,000 increase, according to Reuters poll data.

The Australian dollar rose as much as 0.32% to $0.6564, the highest since July 28, after the jobs data release.

— Amala Balakrishner, Nur Hikmah Md Ali

Chinese and Hong Kong stocks traded mixed Thursday. 

As of 9:32 a.m. local time (9:32 p.m. ET Wednesday), the Hang Seng Index rose 0.58%, while mainland's CSI 300 was flat.

— Nur Hikmah Md Ali

Shares of Tencent rose over 2% early in the session Thursday following its better-than-expected second-quarter earnings results Wednesday. 

The Chinese tech giant reported a 15% jump year on year in second-quarter revenue, boosted by strong performance in its gaming unit and AI investments.

Its second-quarter revenue totaled 184.504 billion Chinese yuan ($25.7 billion), compared with 161.117 billion yuan in the same period last year. 

— Nur Hikmah Md Ali

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 0.31%, reversing course from its record high close in the previous session. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index lost 0.64%, as of 8:05 a.m. Singapore time (8:05 p.m. ET Wednesday).

In South Korea, the Kospi index added 0.39%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was flat.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark increased by 0.49%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Bitcoin rose sharply early Thursday and briefly hit a record high of $123,769, following a rally in U.S. equities overnight.

As of 7:52 a.m. Singapore time (7:52 p.m. ET), Bitcoin had advanced 0.47% to $123,507.07.

— Amala Balakrishner

Job cuts and muted earnings in India's IT sector have left some investors wondering if they should steer clear of such stocks.

Tata Consultancy Services, one of the country's biggest private sector employers, announced last month that more than 12,000 staff in mostly middle and senior management roles would be cut. That accounts for around 2% of TCS' global workforce, making it one of India's biggest IT layoffs thus far.

The company attributed the layoffs to mismatched skillsets, but others cited automation as a factor.

Elsewhere, Infosys has reportedly slowed down fresher recruitment while Wipro has trimmed roles.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here on how the pros are looking at the sector.

— Amala Balakrishner

Good morning from Singapore.

Investors are awaiting the release of a slew of employment-related data from Australia.

Economists polled by Reuters expect an increase of 25,000 employed individuals in July, compared to the modest jump of 2,000 the month before. The unemployment rate in July is expected to come in at 4.2%, an improvement from 4.3% in June.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was set to start the day flat with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,825, compared with the index's Wednesday close of 8,827.10.

Japan Nikkei 225 was set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 43,135 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 43,140, against the index's last close of 43,274.67.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 25,741, pointing to a stronger open compared with the HSI's last close of 25,613.67.

— Amala Balakrishner

U.S. stock futures traded just below the flatline on Wednesday evening.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% shortly after 6 p.m. ET, along with Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 36 points, or about 0.1%.

— Sean Conlon

Warren Buffett has dropped out of the top 10 richest people in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Tuesday night.

This comes as shares of Berkshire Hathaway have lagged in performance since Buffett announced his retirement in May.

— Adrian van Hauwemeiren, Lisa Kailai Han

In a Wednesday note to clients, Wolfe Research pointed to a solid earnings season for continuing the boost the fundamental backdrop of the U.S. economy.

"With U.S. policy (tariff and monetary) incredibly volatile throughout the quarter, we viewed these results as very strong," wrote Chris Senyek, the firm's chief investment strategist.

"While tariff volatility depressed the earnings outlook for the S&P 500 after the Trump Administration's Liberation Day, estimates have bounced back as companies continue to beat expectations and provide solid forward guidance," he continued. "Though we expect seasonal volatility to pick up in the weeks ahead, the fundamental picture for stocks continues to be strong, especially as strong secular tailwinds, such as the AI Spending Narrative, remain intact."

— Lisa Kailai Han

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed to new record closing highs on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 463.66 points, or 1.04%, closing at 44,922.27. The S&P 500 rose 0.32% to settle at 6,466.58, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.14% and finished at 21,713.14.

— Lisa Kailai Han