LONDON (CNNfn) - Asia's leading markets closed mixed Thursday, with blue-chip stocks in Tokyo falling as investors mulled the likelihood of higher interest rates, while Hong Kong was pulled higher in part by a rebound in China Mobile shares. Korean shares jumped 2.7 percent, while Singapore was up almost 2 percent.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 58.95 points, or 0.37 percent at 15,975.65, with financial sector companies among the leading gainers. Traders said investors were cautious ahead of Friday's meeting of the Bank of Japan's policy-making board, as speculation grew that the BoJ would hike rates despite government pressure to keep them on hold.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 151.22 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,333.21, while the Singapore Straits Times jumped 39.31 points, or nearly 2 percent, to 2,084.33. 
In other leading Pacific Rim markets, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.2 percent. The Taiwan Weighted index in Taipei slipped 0.3 percent. The KOSPI index in Seoul rallied for a second day, jumping 2.7 percent, with memory chip maker Samsung Electronics rising 2.6 percent and a 4.4-percent gain for SK Telecom, Korea's mobile-phone leader.
U.S. markets closed mostly lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending down 71.06 points, or 0.65 percent, to 10,905.83. The Nasdaq composite nosed up 0.1 percent.
In the currency market, the dollar was little changed against the Japanese yen compared to late New York trading Wednesday, trading at ¥107.86.
Tire maker sinks
Shares of tire maker Bridgestone tumbled 10.9 percent after its U.S. subsidiary announced the second-biggest recall in history as regulators investigate dozens of fatal crashes that may be linked to the products. The company said it would post a one-time loss of $350 million for the year as a result of the recall.
In Japan's technology sector, shares Fujitsu jumped 10 percent. Fujitsu shares have slid 20 percent over the past month, partly due to margin calls.
Internet investor Softbank added 1.4 percent and Hikari Tsushin climbed 2.6 percent.
Anti-virus software maker Trend Micro shot up 12.7 percent after it said
it filed for listing on the exchange's first section, moving from the over-the-counter market.
In Hong Kong, shares of index heavyweight and telecommunications company China Mobile added 2 percent, in what traders called a bounce from Wednesday's 2.4-percent decline. Bank of East Asia rose 2.9 percent.
In Singapore, shares of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing jumped 4.1 percent after the chipmaker unveiled plans with U.S. telecommunications gear titan Lucent Technologies (LU: Research, Estimates) to invest $700 million over the next 5 years to develop communications chip technology.
Elsewhere in Asia, Jakarta's JSX index closed 1.1 percent, Manila's PHS composite climbed 0.7 percent, the KLSE composite in Malaysia dropped 1.3 percent while the Bangkok SET was down 1.8 percent. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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