Events in Hong Kong, oil, currency focus

Shares of the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Thursday after a 24-hour decline on Wall Street.

The Hang Seng Hong Kong index closed down slightly to 27,294.71, in a climate of uncertainty, a day after fierce clashes between protesters and riot police over the weekend. a controversial draft law on extradition.

"You already have a significant political risk premium embedded in Hong Kong equities because of the trade effects that are occurring and Hong Kong is China's gateway." The prospects for China have suffered as a result. last months, "Binay Chandgothia said. , principal and portfolio manager at Principal Global Investors, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" channel on Thursday.

"Add to that the possibility that something wrong is happening in terms of ongoing protests, so you could see Hong Kong stocks go down," Chandgothia said, adding that the valuation levels in the Hong Kong markets were "quite attractive". "at the present time.

Mainland China's shares advanced that day, with the Shanghai Composite showing a slight increase to 2,910.74 and the Shenzhen Component a slight increase to 8,951.61. The Shenzhen composite also rose 0.287% to 1,532.79.

Nikkei 225, Japan, slipped 0.46% to close at 21,032.00, while shares of the Apple supplier, Japan Display, fell 11.94% after the company announced new restructuring plans and that its president and CEO should withdraw. The Topix Index also fell 0.82% to end its trading day at 1,541.50.

In South Korea, the Kospi sold 0.27% to close at 2,103.15, while shares of chip maker SK Hynix dropped 3.35%. The ASX 200 ended its trading day in Australia, essentially at 6,542.40.

The widest index of Asia Pacific MSCI shares out of Japan fell by 0.36% at 16:11 HK / SIN.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 43.68 points to close at 26,004.83 points, while the S & P 500 index closed its trading day down from 0.2% to 2,879.84 points. The Nasdaq Composite lagged 0.4% to close at 7,792.72.

Declines on Wednesday in the United States came as a result of a muted trade action at the previous session. The Dow closed slightly lower on Tuesday, ending a run of six straight wins.

Oil prices dipped Wednesday after data showing an unexpected rise in US crude oil inventories for the second week in a row, amid fears that fuel demand could weaken in the context of the commercial struggle between the United States and China.

West West Intermediate's futures contracts plunged $ 2.13 to $ 51.15 per barrel, slipping 4% on the day, reaching a new low in five months. Brent, the international benchmark for oil prices, fell $ 2.32, or 3.7 percent, to $ 59.97 a barrel, with its first settlement below $ 60 since January.

On Thursday afternoon, during trading hours in Asia, oil prices rebounded from the losses recorded the day before by reports of oil tanker explosions in the Gulf of Oman. Futures on US crude jumped 2.44% to $ 52.39 a barrel, while Brent jumped 2.62% to $ 61.54 a barrel.

The US dollar index, which compares the greenback to a basket of peers, stood at 96.934, up from 96.6 yesterday.

The Japanese yen changed hands at 108.31 against the dollar after hitting levels above 108.5 previously. while the Australian dollar traded at $ 0.6913 after slipping yesterday to $ 0.696.

– Fred Imbert and Tom DiChristopher of CNBC contributed to this report.