Asian stocks are mixed as investors watch takeaways from Trump-Xi summit

Asian stock markets opened with mixed results on Thursday, following Wall Street’s record-setting session, as investors awaited developments from the U.S.-China summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. The meeting, held at the Great Hall of the People, centered on U.S.-China relations and Taiwan, though analysts did not anticipate major breakthroughs. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 63,448.87, briefly hitting another all-time high above 63,700, supported by strong corporate earnings. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.5% to 7,884.71, driven by technology stocks, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 26,584.88. In contrast, China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.9% to 4,204.41, reflecting cautious sentiment. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped slightly by less than 0.1% to 8,627.80, while Taiwan’s Taiex and India’s Sensex both rose by 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Oil prices surged higher, with Brent crude at $106.04 per barrel and U.S. benchmark crude at $101.43, up 0.4% each, as tensions in Iran persisted over two months without resolution. The International Energy Agency warned that supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz were depleting global oil inventories at a record pace. Investors also monitored updates on China’s potential imports of Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed as part of Trump’s delegation to China alongside Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Technology stocks led Wall Street’s gains the prior day, with the S&P 500 reaching an all-time high at 7,444.25, while the Nasdaq Composite also set a record at 26,402.34. Meanwhile, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.46%, though it remained elevated compared to pre-Iran war levels of around 3.97%. A report released Wednesday showed U.S. wholesale prices surged in April due to energy shocks from the Iran conflict. The U.S. Senate also confirmed Kevin Warsh as Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell, who had faced criticism from Trump for not cutting interest rates more aggressively. The U.S. dollar weakened slightly against the yen and euro, trading at 157.85 yen and $1.1715, respectively.