Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of Xi-Trump Summit

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday ahead of a high-stakes U.S.-China summit on Thursday, which could lead to new trade agreements amid escalating competition and restrictions on advanced technologies.

While falling oil prices helped ease inflation fears, hawkish comments from several Federal Reserve officials reinforced market expectations interest rates will stay higher for longer.

The U.S. dollar held near a two-month high after St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin and Boston Fed President Susan Collins all stressed that additional rate hikes may be needed to lower inflation, hinting at further tightening.

Gold prices fell nearly 1 percent toward $4,300 an ounce on rate-hike fears while Brent crude futures hovered near $99 a barrel after five consecutive sessions of losses on hopes for progress in U.S.-Iran talks.

Media reports suggest that Saudi Arabia has restarted its East-West oil pipeline and may have resumed exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu following drone attacks on September 11.

U.S. President Trump said officials held a "very productive" meeting with Iranian envoys but warned of dire consequences if no deal is reached.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.39 percent to 3,936.52 as caution crept in ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting, which is expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, supply chains and geopolitical issues.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.01 percent to 24,834.12 due to profit taking in technology stocks.

Japanese markets were closed for Autumnal Equinox Day holiday. In Seoul, the Kospi index jumped 0.90 percent to 7,080.92, extending gains for a fourth straight session, led by technology stocks. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rallied 3.3 percent and its chip rival SK Hynix added 1.2 percent.

Australian markets swung between gains and losses before closing marginally higher, led by mining stocks. Insurance Australia Group shares fell 2.4 percent after the competition regulator blocked the company from acquiring RAC Insurance following a Phase 2 competition review.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index slipped 0.39 percent to 13,821.76.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as Treasury yields rebounded on expectations for further interest-rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

The two-year Treasury yield reached a fresh two-year high of 4.7879 percent after President Trump said that a deal with Iran may be possible after the midterm elections, but he may instead just decide to "annihilate the Islamic Republic" if no deal is reached. He also spoke of setting up a "large military presence" in Greenland.

The Dow dropped 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 finished marginally lower while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose half a percent to notch a record high close for a second day running amid the success of Meta's new AI agent and upcoming U.S.-China talks on artificial intelligence.