Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday, even as Chinese and Hong Kong markets advanced on the back of strong trade data.
A cautious undertone prevailed as uncertainty over Fed rate cuts deepened, and fighting and bombardment continued on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The dollar traded firm on hawkish Fed comments while oil and gold prices saw modest gains in Asian trading.
Mainland China and Hong Kong markets outperformed as customs office data showed China\'s exports rebounded more than expected in April on lower base of comparison.
Exports advanced 1.5 percent on a yearly basis in April, faster than the 1.0 percent expected growth and reversing March\'s 7.5 percent decrease.
Imports posted an annual increase of 8.4 percent, which was also bigger than economists\' forecast of 5.4 percent.
China\'s benchmark Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.83 percent to 3,154.32 while Hong Kong\'s Hang Seng index rallied 1.22 percent to 18,537.81.
Property stocks surged after Chinese megacity Hangzhou lifted all home purchase curbs.
Japanese markets ended modestly lower, giving up early gains as the yen stabilized following three days of decline on talk of intervention.
The country stands ready to deal with foreign exchange matters around the clock, top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said today.
A summary of opinions at the Bank of Japan\'s April meeting showed board members turned overwhelmingly hawkish.
Data showed Japan\'s real wages in March decreased for the 24th consecutive month, bolstering the case for policymakers to not hike rates aggressively.
The Nikkei average ended down 0.34 percent at 38,073.98 while the broader Topix index settled 0.26 percent higher at 2,713.46. Sony, Toyota and Fast Retailing all fell over 1 percent while Nintendo rallied 3.5 percent.
Seoul stocks fell sharply due to lingering uncertainty over possible U.S. rate cuts. The Kospi average dropped 1.20 percent to 2,712.14 ahead of the release of key U.S. CPI data next week. Naver, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics fell 1-2 percent.
Australian markets lost ground after Commonwealth Bank of Australia reported lower profit in its third quarter.
Shares of the banking giant tumbled 2.2 percent while the benchmark S&P ASX 200 ended 1.06 percent lower at 7,721.60. The broader All Ordinaries index closed down 1.02 percent at 7,994.20.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand\'s benchmark S&P NZX-50 index slid 0.31 percent to 11,746.58.
U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as Treasury yields rose after a 10-year notes auction.
The Dow inched up 0.4 percent to extend gains for a sixth consecutive session and close above 39,000 points for the first time in five weeks.
The S&P 500 finished marginally lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eased 0.2 percent.