Asia shares mixed as Seoul posts first gain in six sessions

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Asian stock markets finished on a mixed note Thursday, weighed down by Wall Street's pullback, but a weaker yen provided support for stocks in Japan and South Korea's benchmark index posted its first gain in six sessions.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.1% higher and the broader Topix added 0.3%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite climbed 2.2% after logging five-straight sessions of losses. But Australia's S&P/ASX 200 finished 1.2% lower and New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 1.7%. In afternoon trading, Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 0.3% and Mumbai's benchmark index was up 1.3%.