U.S. stocks finished mixed on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 inching up in the last minute to secure record finishes, according to preliminary numbers, shaking off earlier weakness tied to political headlines in Europe, muted data from China and the 30th anniversary of Black Monday--the worst one-day percentage fall in history.

Early weakness in Japan, Australia and New Zealand stocks faded Friday morning, but Asia-Pacific markets overall lacked direction following weakness in Europe and swings on Wall Street. Hong Kong stocks rebounded strongly at the open, with the Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.98% up 0.7%. A late-session selloff Thursday put the benchmark down 2%, after a warning from the governor of China's central bank rattled investors.