Asian Shares Mixed On Hawkish Fed Comments

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors reacted to cautious Fed comments, a weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales report and signs of escalating tensions in Europe and the Middle East.

The dollar recovered some ground, after having fallen Tuesday on bets of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Gold edged up marginally in Asian trading while oil prices dipped from a seven-week high after industry data showed an increase in U.S. crude stocks.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.40 percent to 3,018.05 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 2.87 percent to 18,430.39 after three days of declines.

Japanese markets edged up slightly as the minutes of Bank of Japan's April policy meeting showed policymakers debated the impact a weak yen could have on prices, with an official stressing the need for raising interest rates "in a timely and appropriate manner".

The Nikkei average rose 0.23 percent to 38,570.76 while the broader Topix index settled 0.47 percent higher at 2,728.64.

Mitsubishi Motors topped the gainers list to rise 9 percent. Chip-related Advantest surged 4.1 percent after Nvidia surpassed Microsoft to become Wall Street's most valuable company.

Seoul stocks rallied, with the Kospi average climbing 1.21 percent to 2,797.33 as tech stocks surged on bullish outlook for AI technology. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 1.8 percent.

Australian markets edged lower after several Fed officials speaking Tuesday stressed the Fed's commitment to making decisions based on incoming economic data.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.11 percent to 7,769.70, with industrials and financials underperforming. The broader All Ordinaries index ended marginally lower at 8,010.50.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.82 percent to 11,671.19 ahead of the release of U.K. May inflation data and the Bank of England policy decision.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as investors digested mixed economic data and commentary from a slew of Fed officials emphasizing the need for more evidence of cooling inflation before lowering rates.

May industrial production and manufacturing output both beat expectations while retail sales barely rose and April's data was revised significantly lower, sending Treasury yields lower and helping investors increase bets on two interest-rate increases this year.

The S&P 500 inched up 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally higher to reach new record closing highs while the Dow rose 0.2 percent.