Asian shares held on to recent gains in morning trading on Thursday, despite hawkish remarks from a senior official at the U.S. Federal Reserve, that boosted the dollar while weighing on risk appetite, and uncertainty about Chinese policy.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.22%, and Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.32%.
Australia gained 0.18%, Chinese blue chips fell 0.28% and Hong Kong advanced 0.45%.
This week the MSCI Asian regional benchmark has walked back most of the ground lost a week earlier, when a series of Chinese regulatory crackdowns in sectors from property to education squeezed Chinese stocks and overshadowed the region as a whole.
Chinese equities have been calmer this week, barring sharp swings in tech giant Tencent after state media criticised the gaming industry.
“In the short term, the further rebound may continue but uncertainties over policy control will drive long-term investors away from Chinese technology names,” said Edison Pun, senior market analyst at Saxo Markets.
