BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets falling ahead of high-level U.S.-China talks scheduled for this weekend. U.S. Treasury Secretary said the United States is open to discussing shared risks with China in upcoming AI talks.
The U.S. dollar index weakened after hitting a fresh seven-week high earlier as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years and signaled more increases to curb persistent inflation.
Treasury yields also edged lower, helping gold prices surge more than 1 percent above $4,300 an ounce.
Brent crude futures fell nearly 2 percent toward $104 a barrel in Asian trade after reports suggested that U.S. officials held a confidential meeting with Yemen's Houthis in Oman amid rising Red Sea tensions, spurring new hopes over an easing in Middle East tensions.
Both Brent and WTI contracts fell about $3 a barrel on Wednesday after reports emerged that Saudi Arabia is offering more crude oil to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfer off Oman's Sohar port.
China's Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.41 percent to 3,875.60 as caution crept in ahead of next week's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington.
Analysts expect the leaders to extend a trade truce rather than strike major deals on AI, Iran or Taiwan. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 0.44 percent lower at 24,604.29, dragged down by financials and technology stocks.
Japanese markets eked out modest gains as oil prices eased and the yen held losses from the past three sessions.
The Nikkei average edged up 0.33 percent to 64,136.25 ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy announcement due on Friday, with the central bank widely expected to raise interest rates. The broader Topix index closed 0.80 percent higher at 4,094.19.
Tech heavyweights diverged, with SoftBank rising more than 1 percent while Kioxia Holdings fell 1.8 percent.
Seoul stocks ended little changed, with the Kospi finishing marginally lower at 6,715.41 as chip giants struggled. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.4 percent and SK Hynix dropped 0.8 percent.
Australian markets closed higher for a second consecutive session, with financials surging after the yields on long-dated bonds eased from multi-decade highs.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.41 percent to 8,732.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.41 percent higher at 8,910.90.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index surged 0.98 percent to 13,756.59 after the release of strong second-quarter GDP data.
U.S. stocks fell overnight, with the all three major indexes closing lower for the seventh time in the past eight sessions, after the Fed delivered its first interest-rate hike since July 2023 and suggested rates may need to go still higher to get inflation under control.
According to forecasts published after the meeting, Fed officials expect the federal funds rate to end this year at 4.1 percent, up from the current range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent following the latest 25-bps increase.
According to data from CME Group, investors currently bet on a 38 percent probability the Fed could hike the federal funds rate to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.40 percent by the end of the year.
At his press conference, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh struck a decidedly hawkish tone, saying that inflation is too high and has been too long.
Pointing to solid hiring trends, corporate profits and investments by businesses, Warsh said the economy has strengthened since policymakers last met in June.
The Dow fell 1.2 percent to hit a three-month closing low and the S&P 500 declined half a percent to reach its lowest closing level in well over a month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower.
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