Asian markets end mostly in green on Thursday

Asian equity markets ended mostly in green on Thursday, with sentiment supported by a late rebound on Wall Street overnight, higher oil prices and speculation about the Federal Reserve putting interest-rate increases on hold. Chinese shares closed higher, as yuan worries eased and China's central bank stepped up efforts to stave off potential liquidity squeeze heading into the week-long Lunar New Year holidays next week. Hong Kong stocks ended higher as energy shares surged on a rebound in oil prices, while an overnight tumble in the US dollar eased fears of capital outflows. However, Japanese shares bucked the uptrend to end at a one-week low as a result of a firmer yen and weak earnings forecasts from Panasonic and Hitachi.  Taiwan Weighted was closed for the start of the long break for the Lunar New Year.