Asian Shares Mostly Higher As Trump And Putin Discuss Ukraine Peace Deal

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks advanced on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had a "lengthy and highly productive phone call" with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and that Ukraine's NATO membership is not "practical", raising expectations for an end to the war in Ukraine.

Trump expects to meet Putin in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine peace talks, sparking concerns about Ukraine's exclusion.

The dollar stayed under pressure in Asian trade as a bond market selloff paused and talks between the U.S and Russia helped improve overall risk sentiment in financial markets.

Gold held near record highs despite the latest U.S. CPI data reinforcing market expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain its aggressive monetary policy.

Oil prices were down around 1 percent in Asian trade, thanks to potential Ukraine-Russia talks, rising U.S. crude stockpiles and hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.42 percent to 3,332.48 after a choppy session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose dipped 0.2 percent to 21,814.37, giving up early gains.

Baidu surged 5.7 percent after an announcement that it plans to make its popular ChatGPT-style artificial intelligence chatbot available for free starting April 1.

Alibaba shares rallied 2.6 percent as chairman Joe Tsai confirmed reports that the Chinese tech company will partner with Apple on AI for iPhones sold in the China market.

Japanese markets rallied on the back of a weaker yen. The Nikkei average jumped 1.28 percent to 39,461.47 while the broader Topix index settled 1.18 percent higher at 2,765.59.

Heavyweight SoftBank fell 3.6 percent after posting a surprise quarterly loss. Honda Motor climbed 2.1 percent while Nissan edged down slightly after they have decided to terminate talks over integrating their businesses.

Seoul stocks hit a three-month high, led by tech and auto shares on growing hopes for an exemption from U.S. tariffs. The Kospi average closed 1.36 percent higher at 2,583.17, extending gains for a third straight session and reaching its highest level since Nov. 4, 2024.

Australian markets pared early gain to end on a flat note. While higher iron ore prices lifted mining stocks, financials dipped after strong gains in the previous session. Treasury Wine Estates slumped 5.7 percent after a profit warning.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended little changed at 12,905.98.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight, the dollar advanced and bond yields soared after data showed consumer prices increased in January by the most in nearly a year and a half, adding to worries that the Fed would not rush to resume cutting rates.

The annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 3.0 percent in January from 2.9 percent in December, while economists had expected the pace of growth to remain unchanged.

The month-on-month rise for the month was also ahead of expectations, while core inflation touched a 10-month high.

Markets pared early losses after reports emerged that President Donald Trump is considering exemptions to the reciprocal tariffs he may announce as early as Thursday.

Meanwhile, speaking before the House Financial Services Committee on the second day of his semi-annual congressional testimony, Fed Chair Powell reassured lawmakers that the Fed remains committed to making independent decisions based on economic conditions.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally higher after tumbling by 1.2 percent earlier. The Dow and the S&P 500 dipped half a percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.