Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as investors bet on Fed rate cut

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday as investors bet on a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve next month.

Investors are also watching Australian markets after the country's unemployment rate eased to 4.2% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in July, in line with estimates of economists polled by Reuters.

Australia unemployment rate eases to 4.2% in July

Australia's unemployment rate eased to 4.2% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in July, in line with estimates of economists polled by Reuters.

The reading was lower than the 4.3% recorded in June, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed.

Meanwhile, the number of employed individuals rose by 24,500 in July, from a revised increase of 1,000 the month before.

That latest reading still missed market forecasts of a 25,000 increase, according to Reuters poll data.

The Australian dollar rose as much as 0.32% to $0.6564, the highest since July 28, after the jobs data release.

China and Hong Kong stocks open mixed

Chinese and Hong Kong stocks traded mixed Thursday.

As of 9:32 a.m. local time (9:32 p.m. ET Wednesday), the Hang Seng Index rose 0.58%, while mainland's CSI 300 was flat.

Tencent shares rise over 2% on second-quarter revenue beat

Shares of Tencent rose over 2% early in the session Thursday following its better-than-expected second-quarter earnings results Wednesday.

The Chinese tech giant reported a 15% jump year on year in second-quarter revenue, boosted by strong performance in its gaming unit and AI investments.

Its second-quarter revenue totaled 184.504 billion Chinese yuan ($25.7 billion), compared with 161.117 billion yuan in the same period last year.

Asia-Pacific markets start the day mixed

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 0.31%, reversing course from its record high close in the previous session. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index lost 0.64%, as of 8:05 a.m. Singapore time (8:05 p.m. ET Wednesday).

In South Korea, the Kospi index added 0.39%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was flat.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark increased by 0.49%.

Bitcoin rises to record high after rally in U.S. equities

Bitcoin rose sharply early Thursday and briefly hit a record high of $123,769, following a rally in U.S. equities overnight.

As of 7:52 a.m. Singapore time (7:52 p.m. ET), Bitcoin had advanced 0.47% to $123,507.07.

CNBC Pro: Buy or avoid India's IT stocks after recent job cuts? 3 pros share their take

Job cuts and muted earnings in India's IT sector have left some investors wondering if they should steer clear of such stocks.

Tata Consultancy Services, one of the country's biggest private sector employers, announced last month that more than 12,000 staff in mostly middle and senior management roles would be cut. That accounts for around 2% of TCS' global workforce, making it one of India's biggest IT layoffs thus far.

The company attributed the layoffs to mismatched skillsets, but others cited automation as a factor.

Elsewhere, Infosys has reportedly slowed down fresher recruitment while Wipro has trimmed roles.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here on how the pros are looking at the sector.