Asian stocks gave up early gains to end mixed on Thursday as investors awaited Chinese GDP data for direction.
China's Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.87 percent to 3,474.75 after data showed that China's property market remained largely stable in December despite tough purchase restrictions. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up half a percent in late trade.
Data released a while before revealed that the Chinese economy grew an annual 6.9 percent in 2017, up from 6.7 percent in 2016 and marking the first expansion in seven years.
Industrial output accelerated slightly in December, while retail sales slowed and fixed-asset investment remained unchanged, separate reports showed.
Japanese shares reversed early gains to end lower after a report showed Japan's industrial production increased less than initially estimated in November.
The Nikkei average pulled back from a 26-year high to end 104.97 points or 0.44 percent lower at 23,763.37. The broader Topix closed 0.74 percent lower at 1,876.86.
While drugmakers, financials and property developers paced the decliners, technology stocks such as Advantest and Tokyo Electron surged around 3 percent each.
Australian shares finished marginally lower, dragged down by miners and energy companies. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index ended down 1.20 points or 0.02 percent at 6,014.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index slid 3.90 points or 0.06 percent to 6,130.40.
Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum shed 0.8 percent on reporting a 11 percent fall in FY output. Santos dropped 1.5 percent while Beach Energy fell as much as 4.1 percent.
Mining giant BHP Billiton inched up 0.1 percent as it reported a 3 percent rise in second-quarter iron ore output. Smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group slipped 0.2 percent and South32 declined 2.6 percent.
Lender Australia and New Zealand Banking Group rose 0.6 percent after it reached a settlement with the corporate watchdog over suspected third party fraud.
On the economic front, Australia's inflationary expectations remained unchanged in January, survey data from the Melbourne Institute showed while employment figures for December jumped past expectations.
Seoul shares ended little changed with a positive bias after the Bank of Korea left its policy rate steady as expected, citing the recent softening in inflation.
New Zealand shares ended lower as a stronger kiwi dollar pulled down export-dependent companies like Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
The benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index dropped 25 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 8,272.67. Property companies closed broadly higher after recent heavy losses on concerns over rising interest rates.
In economic releases, New Zealand's house prices increased in December from a year ago, while the volume of sales decreased notably, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand reported.
India's Sensex was up over 1 percent to hit a record high, with banks leading the surge amid reports that the government is considering a proposal to permit 100 percent FDI in private banks.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite was rising 0.3 percent and the Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.6 percent while Malaysia's KLSE Composite was down 0.3 percent and Singapore's Straits Times index was declining 0.4 percent.
Overnight, U.S. stocks hit fresh record highs after industrial production surged more than expected in December and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book painted a sunny picture of the world's largest economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.3 percent to close above 26,000 for the first time ever, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.9 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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