By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) - Stock markets in Asia closed on Thursday mostly with slight gains after the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from its last meeting.
"The Committee’s primary means of adjusting the stance of monetary policy is through changes in the target range for the federal funds rate," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in the minutes from the meeting of Jan. 25-26.
The Asia Dow, which includes the region's blue-chip companies, increased slightly by 0.79 points, or 0.02%, to close at 3,756.98 points.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was the sole index posting decline at close following a disappointing foreign trade figure revealed on Thursday.
The index fell 227.53 points or 0.83% to close at 27,232.8 points.
Japan's exports growth was much lower than market forecast with 9.6% year-on-year in January while its imports jumped 39.6% in the same period, bringing trade deficit to a record high level of last eight years.
The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, was the best performer of the day, up 73.87 points, or 0.30%, to 24,792.77.
China's Shanghai stock exchange increased 2.20 points, or 0.06%, to 3,468 points.
The Indian Sensex benchmark rose 30.04 points, or 0.05%, to close at 58,027 points, while the Singapore index went up 9.07 points, or 0.26%, to 3,448.