Oil, Tech Outlooks Roil Asian Stock Markets
Asian stock markets turned in a mixed Thursday with powerful rallies in Tokyo and Seoul on tech strength and lower oil prices, while Hong Kong and Shanghai lagged on mainland China's uncertain macroeconomic outlook.The tech-centric South Korean KOSPI index rose 8.4% on the day, after semiconductor powerhouse Samsung Electronics sealed a labor deal, and following an upbeat earnings report from peer enterprise and chip colossus Nvidia (NVDA).Brent oil futures, after topping $110 a barrel on Wednesday, eased to near $104 on Thursday.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 3.1%, after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again posited that a peace deal was possible in the Persian Gulf.The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1,879.73 to 61,684.14, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 139 to 85.Leading the upside was tech financier SoftBank, up 19.9% after reports that client OpenAI may file an initial public offering. The insurer Sompo declined 10.7% after reporting earnings.In economic news, the flash Japan composite purchasing managers index (PMI), a combination of the nation's manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 51.1 in May from 52.2 in April, marking the slowest pace of expansion this year, though still striking above the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly but lost ground, closing down 1% as traders mulled recent tempered economic releases from Beijing.The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 264.60 to 25,386.52, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 59 to 30. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.1%.Leading the upside was smartphone components supplier Sunny Optical Technology, gaining 9.3%, while search engine giant Baidu declined 5.7%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 2% to 4,077.28.On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE rose 3.4%; the Australian ASX 200 advanced 1.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index was flat, and the Thai Set gained 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.2%MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 2.2% on the day.