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Shares in Asia were mixed Thursday, with stronger regional currencies putting pressure on some stocks, while China's plans to further open its equities market provided a delayed boost.

The Nikkei Stock Average was hit by a stronger yen, falling 0.2% in morning trade. The yen broke below the 100 level versus the U.S. dollar. Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.4% as its local currency strengthened following strong jobs data.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.5%, Seoul's Kospi added 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2%.

"The main mover [of markets] is the dollar falling," said Tareck Horchani, deputy head of Asian Pacific sales trading at Saxo Capital Markets.

Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's July meeting, released late Wednesday, reflected a split on the timing of an interest-rate increase, diluting hopes among some investors who expected a more hawkish tone.

Some investors had expected more clarity from the Fed over the timeline for a rise after two officials waxed optimistic on the economy earlier in the week.

Expectations of continued low interest rates sent the U.S. dollar weaker, driving up some of the region's main currencies.

Shares of key Japanese auto makers were hit as a stronger yen makes the country's exports more expensive. Mazda Motor Corp. was down 2.3%, Toyota Motor Corp. fell 0.6% and Nissan Motor Co. shed 1.2% in Thursday's morning session.

In Hong Kong, the market threw caution to the wind over the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program and stocks caught an updraft.

China on Tuesday gave the green light to a stock-trading link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, which would let global investors buy Shenzhen stocks.

"If you look at the sentiment, it is still a little bit cautious," said Alex Wong, director of asset management at Ample Capital Ltd, who manages a $100 million fund. "But I think they are basically ignoring that and they are still trading on the expectation that liquidity will be abundant and quality assets will be supported," he said.

Shares of exchange operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. rose 0.8%, rebounding from Wednesday's 4.7% decline.

Meanwhile, China shares were trading about flat as Beijing signaled that its crackdown on speculative trading continues.

The head of China's insurance regulator said that some insurers ignored consumer interest in offering insurance products that actually served as a platform for investing.

Separately, the Economic Information Daily, which is affiliated with the official Xinhua News Agency, wrote in a front-page opinion article Thursday that the recent regulatory clampdown will "purify" the stock market of speculative punts, restoring principles of value investing.

Though such regulatory posturing had driven markets down before, investors have become inured to such tough talk, say analysts. The Shenzhen Composite Index was last up 0.2%.

--Yifan Xie, Kosaku Narioka and Saurabh Chaturvedi contributed to the article.

Write to Ese Erheriene at ese.erheriene@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2016 01:05 ET (05:05 GMT)

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