Asian stocks trade mixed as Yen gains, Oil drifts lower

The Asian stock markets opened firmer on Thursday, taking the positive lead from the Wall Street overnight after the FOMC Dec meeting minutes revealed less hawkish stance adopted by the Fed members.

Most major Asian indices turned lower, with the Japanese equities now trading in the red as the yen regained lost ground versus its American counterpart amid broad based US dollar weakness. USD/JPY drops -0.55% to trade around 116.60 levels.

While renewed weakness in oil prices also dampened the sentiment around the resource and energy sector stocks, and thus, capping further gains on the commodity-heavy Australian markets.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index drops -0.25% to 19,545. The Australian benchmark, ASX 200 index trades +0.31% at 5,753 points. Mainland Chinese markets defend gains, with the Shanghai composite and Shenzhen CSI 300 index trading marginally. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advances +1%.