Sylhet: Asian stock markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Chinese shares falling as investors closely watched the outcome of U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing: Asian stock markets showed varied results as trading closed on Thursday, primarily influenced by the ongoing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Investors are keenly observing the discussions focused on bilateral relations and Taiwan, although analysts caution against expecting significant breakthroughs from the meeting.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the summit took place at the Great Hall of the People, and despite the high-profile gathering, market analysts remained skeptical of any major developments. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index saw a decline of 1% to 62,654.05, having earlier reached a new intraday record above 63,700, buoyed by robust corporate earnings. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi index surged 1.8% to a historic close of 7,981.41, thanks to continued enthusiasm in technology stocks and the burgeoning interest in artificial intelligence.
In contrast, China’s Shanghai Composite Index experienced a drop of 1.5% to 4,177.92. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index managed a slight increase, edging up 0.1% to 26,426.06. In Australia, the S and P/ASX 200 index posted a modest gain of 0.1% to 8,640.70. Taiwan’s Taiex and India’s Sensex indexes rose by 0.9% and 1% respectively.
The oil market saw prices climb higher, as the ongoing conflict in Iran entered its third month without resolution, raising alarms about global energy supplies. Investors hoped that the Trump-Xi meeting might alleviate tensions, especially after U.S. officials suggested that Beijing could leverage its economic ties with Tehran to encourage the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic channel for global oil exports. Brent crude rose 0.3% to $105.95 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude increased by 0.4% to $101.44 per barrel.
The International Energy Agency reported on Wednesday that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz were depleting global oil inventories at an unprecedented rate. Investors also focused on the presence of key industry figures like Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, who accompanied Trump to China alongside Elon Musk of Tesla and Tim Cook of Apple.
On Wall Street, technology stocks drove gains, with the S and P 500 rising 0.6% to a record 7,444.25. The Nasdaq Composite also reached an all-time high, jumping 1.2% to 26,402.34, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a slight decline of 0.1% to 49,693.20. In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note eased slightly to 4.46% from 4.47%.
A recent report highlighted a sharp increase in U.S. wholesale prices in April, primarily due to rising energy costs. Additionally, the U.S. Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell, who faced criticism from Trump for not reducing interest rates more aggressively.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar experienced a slight rise to 157.92 Japanese yen from 157.86 yen, while the euro remained stable at $1.1711.