Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday after Wall Street reached fresh record highs, as investors closely followed the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The two leaders met at the Great Hall of the People for discussions covering US-China relations, trade and Taiwan, although analysts said expectations for any major breakthrough remained limited.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 63,448.87 after briefly touching another record intraday high above 63,700, supported by strong corporate earnings and continued investor optimism around technology and industrial shares.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5%, driven by strength in technology-related stocks, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.7%.
In mainland China, however, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.9%, reflecting continued caution among domestic investors.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was marginally lower, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.6%, and India’s Sensex gained 0.5%.
Oil prices continued to move higher as the conflict involving Iran showed little sign of resolution after more than two months of disruption.
Investors are closely monitoring whether discussions between Trump and Xi could help ease tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for global energy supplies.
Brent crude climbed 0.4% to around USD106 per barrel, remaining sharply above levels seen before the Iran conflict escalated earlier this year.
The latest gains followed comments from the International Energy Agency warning that supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace.
On Wall Street, US equities continued their rally on Wednesday, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related stocks.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to a fresh record close, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.2% to another all-time high.
Meanwhile, former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh was confirmed by the US Senate as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell after the end of his term later this week.
