Asian Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade; Kospi Extends Record-setting Rally

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday after technology and bank stock led Wall Street's major indexes into a second day of declines overnight.

Gold drifted lower while the dollar held gains ahead of the release of the weekly U.S. initial jobless claims report and speeches from various Federal Reserve officials including Raphael Bostic, Michael Barr, Thomas Barkin and Jeff Schmid later in the day.

Oil prices fell for the first time in six days, with Brent and WTI contracts both tumbling over 3 percent as U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to soften rhetoric against Iran.

China's Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.33 percent to 4,112.60 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 0.28 percent to 26,923.62 after the Trump administration imposed targeted tariffs on advanced AI chips while permitting restricted Nvidia exports to China.

Also, media reports suggested that Chinese authorities have instructed domestic companies to halt the use of cybersecurity software from over a dozen U.S. and Israeli firms, citing national security concerns.

Japanese markets closed lower as investors rotated out of richly valued technology stocks. Advantest shares fell 2.5 percent and SoftBank Group gave up 4.9 percent.

The Nikkei average dropped 0.42 percent to 54,110.50, retreating after a powerful start to the year on speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will call a snap election early in the parliamentary session starting later this month. The broader Topix index settled 0.68 percent higher at 3,668.98.

Seoul stocks hit another record high as the Bank of Korea held benchmark rate steady at 2.50 percent and hinted at an extended pause before any cuts.

The Kospi average surged 1.58 percent to 4,797.55, marking the 10th consecutive day of gains since the beginning of the year and setting a new record closing high, with auto, chip and defense stocks pacing the gainers.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rallied 2.6 percent to close at its highest level since January 7 of last year.

The South Korean weakened to around 1471 per dollar, reversing gains from the previous session after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referred to excessive declines in the currency.

Australian markets rose for a fourth consecutive session to close at a two-month high. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up by 0.47 percent to 8,861.70, led by continued gains in the mining sector. The broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.35 percent to close at 9,184.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.71 percent to 13,659.79 after the announcement of fresh U.S. curbs on Nvidia and AMD chips.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower to extend losses from the previous session as bank earnings proved to be a mixed bag and President Trump ramped up the pressure on Iran as well as Denmark and Greenland.

In economic news, U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November, producer prices picked up slightly in the month and existing home sales accelerated in December while the current account deficit saw a significant drop in the third quarter, a slew of reports showed.

The Fed's Beige Book showed that overall economic activity was increasing at a "slight to moderate" pace in most parts of the country.

Traders also reacted to statements from Federal Reserve officials, including Anna Paulson, Neel Kashkari and Raphael Bostic.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1 percent, the S&P 500 shed half a percent and the Dow finished marginally lower.