DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Lack of direction from U.S. markets leads to a mixed trading day in Asia. Tokyo's markets failed to respond to new numbers showing Japan's economy is on the road to recovery.</s>DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Lorraine Hahn wraps up the day in Asian markets for us from our studios in Hong Kong. Good morning, Lorraine.</s>LORRAINE HAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much. Pretty dry day today in Asia, with many markets working on local factors and wondering what Wall Street is doing. In Japan, the central bank governor welcomed signs that Japanese corporations were spending more. But stock of Softbank, though, fell two percent as investors got nervous about its acquisition of failed bank Nippon Credit; that was announced yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, just a couple of hours ago, announced that it has started talking with the New York Stock Exchange and other bourses around world on the possibility of forming a global equities market. The aim: to offer investors a 24-hour trading day. The Nikkei closing Wednesday at 17144; that is a dip of just over one-tenth of a percent. Here in Hong Kong, telecoms were under some selling pressure after recent gains. The Hang Seng ending half a percent lower. And finally, in Korea, it was again the big winner in Asia. The Kospi index surged 3.5 percent, as international investors gobbled up construction and banking stocks. Many believe the North/South Korea summit next week will boost business. And that is a quick check from me here in Asia, back to both of you in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right, good to see you, Lorraine, thank you.
Asian Markets Mixed on Lack of Direction from U.S.