Asian stocks are mixed as investors watch takeaways from Trump-Xi summit
[May 14, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday and Chinese stocks
traded lower after Wall Street set more records, as investors closely
monitored takeaways from U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit with
Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Trump met with Xi at the Great Hall of the People and they talked about
U.S.-China relations and Taiwan, but analysts did not expect major
breakthroughs.
U.S. futures edged higher.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was down 1% to 62,654.05, after briefly
reaching another all-time intraday record at above 63,700, partly
supported by robust corporate results. South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.8%
higher at 7,981.41 at a fresh record helped by technology-related stocks
on the artificial intelligence boom.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.5% to 4,177.92. Hong Kong’s Hang
Seng gained 0.1% to 26,426.06.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1% to 8,640.70.
Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.9%, and India’s Sensex climbed 1%.
Oil prices were trading higher, with no clear ending to the Iran war
after more than two months. Some were hoping the Trump-Xi meeting could
bring results, after U.S. officials said Beijing could use its close
economic ties with Tehran to press Iran to reopen the Strait or Hormuz.
Brent crude, the international standard, was up 0.3% at $105.95 per
barrel. It was around $70 a barrel before the war in Iran started late
February. That also came after the International Energy Agency said
Wednesday that supply losses from the strait were “depleting global oil
inventories at a record pace.”
Benchmark U.S. crude was up 0.4% to $101.44 per barrel.
[to top of second column] |
Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a
screen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank
headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP
Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 Investors are also watching for
updates on China’s imports of Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips, after
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was confirmed to be a part of Trump’s China
trip alongside other top executives including Tesla’s Elon Musk and
Apple’s Tim Cook.
On Wednesday, technology stocks led Wall Street
gains. The benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 7,444.25 and reached
another all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down
0.1% to 49,693.20, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite rose
1.2% to 26,402.34 and set its own record.
In other dealings, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury edged down
to 4.46% from 4.47% though still significantly above around 3.97%
from before the Iran war began.
A report Wednesday showed that U.S. wholesale prices surged in
April, fueled by impacts from the Iran war-caused energy shock. On
Wednesday, the U.S. Senate also confirmed Kevin Warsh, Trump’s
nominee, to lead the Federal Reserve. He would be take over from
Jerome Powell, who had been criticized by Trump repeatedly for not
cutting rates faster or deeper.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.92 Japanese yen from 157.86 yen. The
euro was unchanged at $1.1711.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
