Asian Shares Mixed On Rising Middle East Tensons, Hawkish Fed Bets

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday as renewed Middle East tensions and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole remarks in the face of rising inflation risks sapped investors' appetite for risk.

Iran launched attacks on American forces stationed in Jordan after U.S. forces targeted two Iranian launchers on Larak Island.

The escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran sent Brent prices surging toward $90 a barrel, reviving inflation and interest-rate concerns.

The dollar held near a two-week high while bond yields ticked lower after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed concerns over rising U.S. debt and instability in the Treasury market.

Gold slipped 0.3 percent to 4,443 an ounce after tumbling about 3 percent on Friday following Warsh's hawkish speech.

China's Shanghai Composite index closed 0.86 percent higher at 3,986.30, reversing early losses as new mortgage rules raised funding concerns and official data showed factory activity in China contracted in August for a second straight month despite an uptick in export demand.

BYD shares slumped 4.5 percent after the electric-vehicle maker reported a 20.5 percent fall in first-half net profit. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished marginally lower at 25,566.99, with tech, gold and property stocks pacing the decliners.

Japanese markets cut early steep losses to end little changed as the yen stayed close to a one-month low on concerns about Japan's fiscal position. Meanwhile, in an interview on Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said recent yen moves were "pretty well contained."

The Nikkei average ended 0.14 percent lower at 66,311.93 while the broader Topix index settled 0.23 percent higher at 4,156.29. While Advantest led decliners with a 4.5 percent drop, Kioxia Holdings surged 4.4 percent and Kansai Electric Power soared 7.6 percent.

Seoul stocks reversed course to end higher, bolstered by gains in tech heavyweights, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.2 percent and SK Hynix adding 1.3 percent. The Kospi index rose 0.46 percent to 6,820.02.

Australian markets ended slightly lower as mining stocks fell, offsetting gains in the banking sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.18 percent to 9,076 amid expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia may lift rates at its next policy meeting. The broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.25 percent at 9,271.40.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rallied 1.08 percent to 13,917.30, snapping a two-session losing streak ahead of the RBNZ rate decision due on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks ended firmly in the red on Friday amid bets that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates soon to get sticky inflation under control.

Bond yields surged after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said that underlying inflation is not slowing and vowed to bring it down closer to 2 percent, even if it causes pain for the economy in the short term.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped half a percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.3 percent and the narrower Dow finished marginally lower.