Asian markets settled mostly lower on Thursday tracking Wall Street’s fall overnight on concerns about lofty valuations for technology shares. Meanwhile, investors braced for key US inflation reading later in the day that could influence the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory in the new year. Japan's Nikkei hit three-week lows as investors positioned ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting, where markets widely expect a 25-basis point rate hike to 0.75%. However, Chinese shares gained marginally as cash-strapped China Vanke kicked off a second meeting with bond holders to extend its debt payments and avoid a default.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,876.37 | 6.09 | 0.16 |
| Hang Seng | 25,498.13 | 29.35 | 0.12 |
| Jakarta Composite | 8,618.20 | -59.15 | -0.69 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,646.90 | 5.46 | 0.33 |
| Nikkei 225 | 49,001.50 | -510.78 | -1.03 |
| Straits Times | 4,570.61 | -4.87 | -0.11 |
| KOSPI Composite | 3,994.51 | -61.90 | -1.53 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 27,468.53 | -56.64 | -0.21 |
