Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday following reassuring comments from the Federal Reserve chief. Gains, however, were modest on growing concerns about military activity in Ukraine and amid caution ahead of a long weekend.
Tokyo stocks swung between gains and losses before closing on a flat note. The benchmark Nikkei average edged down 0.15 points to finish at 14,418 after rallying 3 percent the previous day. The broader Topix Index, meanwhile, edged up 0.04 points to close at 1,167. Insurance and metal stocks paced the declines, while shipping and warehouse shares saw fresh buying. Camera maker Canon Inc. rose 1.3 percent on a Nikkei report that its operating profit jumped 50 percent last quarter.
Sumitomo Chemical Co. ended flat on a separate report that it more than doubled its group pretax profit for the year ended March. Sony Corp lost 0.8 percent. The company said it sold more than 7 million PlayStation 4 videogame consoles since its launch last year. Heavyweight Fast Retailing dropped 1.5 percent and Bridgestone lost a percent on profit taking after sharp gains on Wednesday.
In economic news, confidence among Japan households declined to the lowest since August 2011, the results of a monthly survey from the Cabinet Office showed. The consumer sentiment index dropped to 37.5 in March from 38.5 in February. Separately, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said today that the central bank will maintain its quantitative and qualitative easing until necessary to achieve its 2 percent price target in a stable manner.
Chinese shares lost ground, dragged down by property developers as investors awaited home price data due on Friday for direction. Sentiment was also dampened after Premier Li Keqiang once again ruled out major stimulus to counter slowing growth. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 2,099. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent to finish at 22,760 in thin trading ahead of the Easter holiday.
Australian shares followed Wall Street higher, although gains remained modest ahead of the long Easter and Anzac holiday period. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent to 5,454. The big banks rose between 0.5 percent and 1 percent. Miners ended mixed, with BHP Billiton edging up 0.3 percent, while Rio Tinto eased 0.2 percent and Fortescue Metals Group dropped 1.1 percent. Gold and nickel miner Regis Resources slid 0.8 percent after reporting a decline in production for the March quarter.
Woodside Petroleum gained a percent. The oil & gas producer reported a 5 percent rise in production in the March quarter, matching expectations. Santos, which missed analyst estimates for first-quarter sales and production, fell 0.2 percent while Oil Search eased 0.1 percent. Retailer Woolworths climbed 2.1 percent to finish at a record closing high on heavy volume and rival Wesfarmers added 0.6 percent.
In economic releases, sales of new motor vehicles in Australia fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in March from the previous month, declining for the third straight month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Seoul shares moved in a tight range before closing marginally lower due to selling by institutional investors. The benchmark Kospi average slipped 0.01 percent to 1,992. Offshore investors remained net buyers and purchased shares worth a net 168.5 billion won, while institutions sold shares worth 161.3 billion won, preliminary data showed. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
On the economic front, South Korea's producer prices declined for the 18th straight month in March as lower oil and vegetable prices offset higher prices of livestock products and private services, the Bank of Korea said.
New Zealand shares rose as a successful listing by partially privatized Genesis Energy sparked a rally in other energy stocks. The benchmark NZX-50 Index rose 0.3 percent to 5,103. Genesis shares jumped 17 percent on debut in heavy trading, while Meridian Energy advanced 1.7 percent, Mighty River Power added 1.1 percent, Contact Energy gained 1.5 percent and TrustPower closed up 1.2 percent.
Tech shares also gained ground, with Xero rallying 3.4 percent after recent declines, while Diligent Board Member Services soared 6.7 percent and Pacific Edge gained 1.7 percent.
Elsewhere, India's Sensex was rallying 1.5 percent, with IT stocks pacing the gainers after Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index was moving up 0.4 percent, Malaysia's KLSE Composite was gaining 0.1 percent and the Taiwan Weighted average rose 0.2 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times Index was down 0.1 percent.
Singapore's non-oil domestic exports fell 6.6 percent from a year earlier in March, reversing the 8.9 percent increase in February, official data showed. Malaysia's inflation rate held steady at 3.5 percent in March from a year ago, a government report showed, coming in line with economists' expectations.
U.S. stocks extended gains for a third session on Wednesday as investors digested dovish remarks from Fed Chair Janet Yellen and the latest Beige Book report showing "modest or moderate" improvement in most regions of the country. Positive earnings results and solid industrial production figures helped investors shrug off a disappointing report on housing starts. The Dow gained a percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.3 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.1 percent.
Speaking to the Economic Club of New York, Yellen reiterated that the central bank will remain highly accommodative until employment and inflation reach healthier levels. "The larger the shortfall of employment or inflation from their respective objectives, and the slower the projected progress toward those objectives, the longer the current target range for the federal funds rate is likely to be maintained," she said.
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