Australian shares ended little changed on Thursday as losses in Commonwealth Bank and Rio Tinto tempered gains driven by robust blue-chip earnings and gold miners.
Australian stocks closed at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by financials as Commonwealth Bank of Australia doubled its dividend payout and announced a record $4.41 billion share buyback.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average closed at its highest level in three decades on Thursday, helped by a rally in tech shares and better-than-expected core machinery orders.
Japanese stocks ended lower on Wednesday amid uncertainty about the results of U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia, while sentiment was also dented by a likely announcement of a state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding cities later this week.
Japanese shares rose in holiday-thinned trade on Monday towards the highest in nearly three decades as investors continued to bet that U.S. fiscal stimulus and coronavirus vaccinations will quicken the global economic recovery.