Asian stock markets closed mixed on Thursday as investors awaited the inauguration of Donald Trump as president. Japan's benchmark rose after the dollar slipped against the yen.

Japan's benchmark index, Nikkei 225 rose 177.88 points or 0.94 percent to settle at 19,072.25. Singapore's Straits Times went up 8.00 points or 0.27 percent to end at 3,008.22. South Korea's KOSPI went up 2.25 points or 0.11 percent to end at 2,072.79.

On the other hand, China's benchmark index, Shanghai Composite declined 11.71 points or 0.38 percent to close at 3,101.30. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 48.30 points or 0.21 percent to end at 23,049.96.  Taiwan's TAIEX lost 23.85 points or 0.26 percent to end at 9,318.12.