Asian Shares Mostly Lower On Mixed US Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday, with Seoul stocks outperforming after tech giant Samsung Electronics surpassed 20 trillion won (approximately $13.8 billion) in quarterly operating profit for the first time in the fourth quarter of last year.

Traders pondered the rate path for the Federal Reserve this year amid escalating geopolitical tensions and rising concerns about the global economic outlook.

Investors also digested uneven economic data from the United States and looked ahead to the release of crucial jobs data as well as a Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trump's global tariffs for further direction.

Treasuries held overnight gains, and the dollar was steady against major currencies amid bets that the Federal Reserve will deliver at least two interest-rate cuts this year.

Oil prices were little changed after two days of declines, with a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories offering some support.

Gold was subdued after falling more than 1 percent on Wednesday due to profit taking. China's Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.4 percent on rising geopolitical uncertainties.

Japan's Nikkei index dropped half a percent amid the brewing China-Japan tensions.

Chemical manufactures declined as China started an anti-dumping probe into dichlorosilane imports from Japan, escalating a dispute between Asia's largest economies.

South Korea's Kospi average jumped 1.1 percent. Shares of Samsung Electronics gained 1.5 percent after the country's largest company projected a three-fold jump in fourth-quarter operating profit from a year earlier to a record high on global demand for AI servers.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up by 0.2 percent, with banks, healthcare and tech stocks pacing the gainers. Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index was marginally lower.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fluctuated before eventually ending mixed. The S&P 500 slid 0.3 percent and the Dow dipped 0.9 percent after reaching record closing highs the previous day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up by 0.2 percent as a slew of economic reports reinforced the view of a slowing yet resilient economy.

The JOLTS report hinted at a cooling labor market, while ADP reported a modest rebound in private hiring and the ISM Services PMI surprised to the upside.

European stocks also turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday as investors monitored the latest U.S.-Venezuela developments and assessed the outlook for the ECB's policy this year.

The pan European Stoxx 600 closed flat with a negative bias. While the German DAX surged 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 finished marginally lower. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.7 percent after a recent run of record highs.