Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were lower while Sydney advanced. U.S. futures declined, with the contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials 0.1% lower.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.1% lower, to 24,379.67 and the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 7,474.40. India's Sensex edged 0.1% higher. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 4,726.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain, closing at 36,290.32. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 15,188.39. All are on pace for a weekly gain.Investors were focused on a report from the Labor Department, which showed consumer prices jumped 7% last month. That's the fastest year-over-year pace in the consumer price index in nearly four decades.
The market now puts the chances of the Fed raising short-term rates by at least a quarter point in March at around 75%. A month ago, it was about 36%.