BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, giving up some early gains as investors digested Chinese inflation data and monitored escalating hostilities in the Middle East.
U.S. forces conducted strikes against Iran for a second straight day on Wednesday, but President Donald Trump said he expects the military flare-up will end very quickly and the U.S. is not looking for a long-term war.
Regional gains, if any, were limited due to renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East as well as uncertainty over the outlook for artificial intelligence demand.
The dollar struggled to find direction in Asian trade after the FOMC minutes from the June 16-17 meeting reinforced the central bank's cautious stance.
Gold rebounded after three days of losses to trade above $4,100 an ounce. Brent crude prices fell more than 1 percent to trade below $78 a barrel after Trump claimed any renewed fighting with Iran would end 'very quickly.'
'I don't think it's going to start again. If they hit, we hit ten times harder. Anything that happens will get over very quickly and we'll make things safer, even for oil,' Trump said.
China's Shanghai Composite index rose 1.65 percent to 4,036.59 after the release of mixed inflation data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.70 percent to 24,030.18.
China's consumer inflation slowed more than expected in June while the producer price index surged for a fourth straight month to its highest since July 2022, official data released earlier today showed.
Japanese markets rebounded sharply after a three-day losing streak. The Nikkei average climbed 1.38 percent to 67,743.85 as AI-related shares followed their U.S. peers higher. The broader Topix index closed 0.35 percent higher at 4,020.37.
Advantest jumped 5.9 percent and Tokyo Electron added 5.5 percent after Apple expanded its Broadcom partnership with a $30 billion chip deal and reports suggested that Beijing is considering limited approvals for Nvidia H200 chip purchases by select AI companies.
Seoul stocks ended notably higher on institutional buying. The Kospi index surged more than 3 percent in early trade before trimming gains to end 0.62 percent higher at 7,291.91, led by a rebound in technology stocks.
Chip giant SK Hynix soared 5.3 percent after its U.S. listing was oversubscribed more than seven times. Flash memory chip maker Kioxia Holdings jumped 8.3 percent despite Bain Capital selling its entire stake in the company.
Australian markets ended lower for a fourth consecutive session due to selling in mining, gold and real estate stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.26 percent to 8,762.50 while the broader All Ordinaries index slipped 0.20 percent to 8,961.30.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index gained 0.88 percent to close at 13,785.67, ending at a record high after data showed New Zealand's manufacturing activity rose sharply to hit a five-year high in June.
U.S. stocks ended mostly lower overnight as investors fretted about the economic impacts of the Iran war.
After declaring the ceasefire with Iran is done, President Trump called Iran's leadership 'sick people', adding he was 'very upset' with the country's military alliance with Spain.
Trump later said additional strikes on Iran won't last long, drawing a line against the possibility of a full-scale war.
Meanwhile, minutes from the Fed's June 16-17 meeting showed that policymakers were split on the future of interest rates, offering competing cases for hikes or cuts.
The Dow dipped 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.3 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished 0.2 percent higher.
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