DHAKA: Asian shares traded mixed on Thursday as comments by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on the possibility of an rate rise in December capped gains.

Yellen told a congressional committee that a rise in interest rates before the end of the year was ‘a live possibility’. US rates have been effectively zero since December 2008.

The comments made investors cautious, putting the brakes on bargain-hunting, analysts said.

The Nikkei was up 0.5% to 19,012.86, reports the BBC.

But, shares of electronics firm Toshiba were down nearly 4% after local media reported that the electronics firm may see its first operating loss in six years as a result of its accounting scandal.

The firm’s six-month earnings report is expected on Saturday.

Shares of Takata tumbled another 21% to a six-and-a-half year low. Honda said on Wednesday that it would stop buying Takata airbags for its new cars because of a multi-million vehicle recall.

Chinese shares were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.4% to 3,474.2, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.1% to 23,021.8.

The benchmark indexes had rallied up to 4% on Wednesday on the back of positive comments about the economy’s growth from President Xi Jinping.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.2% to 5,179.20, while South Korea’s Kospi was lower by 0.5% at 2,042.14 points.

BDST: 1232 HRS, Nov 05, 2015
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