Asian stock markets wobbled in mixed trading Thursday, as investors monitored the ongoing summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, and evaluated earnings results.
Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, Hong Kong was flat, but other regional exchanges gained ground. Seoul's KOSPI rose 1.8% to strike a fresh record zenith.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly near an all-time high but declined in trading, finishing off 1% as traders mulled comments by a Bank of Japan official that interest rates should be raised "at the earliest stage possible."
The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 618.06 to 62,654.05, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 133 to 91.
Leading the upside was Tokai Carbon, up 18.5%, while Fukikura declined 19.1%, with both moves following earnings releases.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher but lagged and closed essentially flat after China's Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump that "if mishandled, the two countries could collide" over the Taiwan issue.
The broad gauge Hang Seng finished flat at 26,389.04, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 45 to 42. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index added 0.1%.
Leading the upside was Li Auto, gaining 4.3%, while JD Logistics declined 5.7%.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.5% to 4,177.92.
On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.9%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.2%, and the Thai Set inclined 1.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1.1%
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2% on the day.