Australia July employment change -15.8k vs est. +15.0k; prior +76.3k.

South Korean shares closed up nearly 6% on Thursday, reversing a prior sharp decline as chip stocks surged on shareholder-return moves and a drop in US Treasury yields. SK Hynix jumped 12.73% after announcing a buyback and cancellation of treasury stock; Samsung Electronics rose 9.49% amid media reports it will unveil a new shareholder-return policy at month-end. Other large caps: LG Energy Solution +0.14%, Hyundai Motor +0.85%, Kia -1.43%, POSCO Holdings +0.47%, Samsung Biologics +1.94%. Market breadth was positive with 521 advancers and 338 decliners. Foreign investors were net buyers of KRW1.7 trillion (about $1.22bn) of Korean equities.

Russian Defence Ministry said its air-defence forces shot down 438 Ukrainian drones in one day.