Asian markets advance after S&P 500 snaps losing streak

Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday after stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the economy.

Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney and other regional markets.

Stocks fell in Shanghai after China’s market regulator said it has launched an anti-monopoly investigation of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, stepping up official efforts to tighten control over the country’s fast-growing tech industries.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation also recently summoned six companies, including Alibaba and other e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and Pinduoduo, gaming company Tencent, food delivery firm Meituan and ridesharing firm Didi Chuxing to discuss other aspects of their operations.

Alibaba Group Holding's share price plunged 8.1% in Hong Kong. JD.com fell 2.3%; Tencent sank 2.6% and Meituan lost 2.7%.

The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7% to 3,359.12. Shares also fell on the smaller market in southern China’s Shenzhen.

But elsewhere, Christmas Eve trading was thin but upbeat. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.5% on Thursday to 26,668.35 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.2% higher, to 26,386.56. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 1.4% to 2,799.30. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 6,664.80.

“Although some reshuffling of portfolios in emerging Asia was to be expected ahead of the holiday break, the underlying theme is a positive one," Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 inched up 0.1% to 3,690.01. The benchmark index set a record high on Thursday and is up 14.2% so far this year.

Gains by financial, communication services, energy and other sectors were kept in check by declines elsewhere, including technology companies, which helped pulled the...