Asian Markets Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, despite the mostly negative cues from global markets overnight, as some markets returned after holidays as they play catching up. Traders are also optimistic the US Fed will ease the pace of interest rate hikes, citing slowing wage and inflation growth as well as the recent comments from Fed officials. Asian Markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.

Traders now focus on the fourth-quarter U.S. GDP data due later in the day, which could set the tone for the Fed's January 31 to February 1 monetary policy meeting.

The Australian stock market is closed for Australia Day holiday on Thursday. Australian stocks snapped a five-session winning streak and ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.712 on Thursday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Thursday after opening in the green, giving up some of the gains in the previous four sessions, with the Nikkei 225 staying above the 27,300 level, following the mostly negative cues from global markets overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by financial and technology stocks. Traders also digested domestic data that showed a rise in producer prices.