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Hong Kong - Asian markets were mixed in quiet trade on Wednesday following another record close on Wall Street, while the euro rallied after a deal was agreed in Germany to form a coalition government.
Investors seemed little moved in early exchanges by news that two US B-52 bombers flew over a disputed area of the East China Sea without telling Beijing, in a challenge to China's newly declared air defence identification zone.
Tokyo slipped 0.42%, or 65.61 points, to 15 449.63 and Sydney eased 0.45%, or 24.1 points, to 5 332.9 but Seoul ended up 0.31%, or 6.17 points, at 2 028.81 points, while Shanghai added 0.82%, or 18.00 points, to 2 201.07.
Hong Kong was 0.62% higher in the afternoon.
With the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States closing markets on Thursday and half of Friday, analysts said dealers on Wall Street are beginning to wind down, which is having a knock-on effect globally.
However, on Tuesday the tech-rich Nasdaq jumped 0.58% to 4 017.75, the first time it has ended above 4 000 since the 2000 dot com bust. The Dow added 0.26 points to end at another record high, while the S&P 500, which last week broke 1 800 for the first time, edged up 0.01%.
The gains came despite data from the Conference Board showing US consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level since April, suggesting the deal in Washington to avert a debt default last month failed to reassure people.
BK Asset Management currency analyst Kathy Lien said the data will be noted at the Federal Reserve, which is yet to announce when it will start winding down its stimulus programme.
"Even if there are more jobs, consumers need to be confident to spend," she told Dow Jones Newswires, adding that "retailers are worried that this holiday shopping season could be the weakest since 2009", during the global financial crisis.
She said that if they are right the Fed would not be able to begin its "taper" this year, putting downward pressure on the dollar.
The greenback sank in New York after the release of the confidence figures, ending Tuesday at ¥101.31, compared with ¥101.51 earlier in the day in Asia.
However, on Wednesday it edged back up to ¥101.50.
The euro surged $1.3596 and a four-year-high ¥138.16 at one point in Asia on news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had agreed to form a coalition government, ending two months of uncertainty in Europe's biggest economy after a general election.
Traders were also lifted by speculation the European Central Bank will hold off any new monetary easing measures at its next policy meeting, after cutting rates to a record low earlier this month.
The single currency eased to $1.3578 and 137.96 yen in the late afternoon, compared with $1.3569 and ¥137.46 in New York on Tuesday.
On oil markets, Brent stabilised after briefly tumbling more than 2% on Monday in response to Iran's nuclear deal, which had fuelled fears of a crude supply glut. In afternoon exchanges the contract for January was up five cents at $110.93.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for January eased 23 cents to $93.45.
Gold fetched $1,245.20 per ounce at 09:00 compared with $1 250.87 on Tuesday.
In other markets:
-- Taipei rose 0.58%, or 47.86 points, to 8 295.88.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co climbed 1.45% to Tw$105.0 while Taiwan Cement was 3.21% higher at Tw$45.0.
-- Wellington rose 0.18%, or 8.60 points, to 4 799.35.
Fletcher Building climbed 0.3% to NZ$9.22, Telecom added 2.4% to NZ$2.31 and Air New Zealand was 0.9 percent higher at NZ$1.64.
