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· Asian shares went flat on Thursday as uncertainty over the outlook for both U.S. interest rates and the chance of global fiscal stimulus sucked the life out of markets.

Moves were miniscule, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off 0.2% in very light volumes.

“The key message from the Fed minutes is that the 25 basis-point cut in July was just a calibration, a mid cycle adjustment and not the start of a new easing cycle,” said Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank.

· Japanese stocks were little changed on Wednesday, as investors refrained from betting heavily in either direction ahead of a key central bankers’ gathering in the United States, which could provide markets with some near-term cues.

Markets are in a holding pattern ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, conference of central bank officials.

Investors will be looking for any policy hints from Powell ahead of the Fed’s September meeting, at which it is widely expected to cut rates again.

The Nikkei share average ended the day 0.05% higher at 20,628.01points.

· China stocks ended a volatile session higher on Thursday, as gains in consumer companies countered lingering worries over a bruising trade war with the United States.

The blue-chip CSI300 index ended 0.3 per cent higher at 3,793.51, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.1 per cent at2,883.44.

· European stocks traded lower Thursday after the widely watched 2-year/10-year U.S. yield curve inverted for the second time in two weeks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.3% in early trade, basic resources leading losses with a 0.8% drop as the majority of sectors and major bourses traded in the red.