A HDR evening shot taken at sunset of the Tokyo skyline.
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday, as investors continued to weigh the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.65% to close at 39,584.58, closing at a five-month high since the end of January, data from LSEG showed. The Topix added 0.81% to end the trading day at 2,804.69.
South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.92% to end the day at 3,079.56, while the small-cap Kosdaq retreated 1.29% to 787.95.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 8,550.8.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.64%, and the CSI 300 slipped 0.35% to close at 3,946.02.
India’s Nifty 50 was 0.34% higher.
U.S. futures were relatively unchanged. S&P 500 futures traded around the flatline, as did Nasdaq 100 futures and futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell maintained a cautious stance on inflation and tariffs during his second day of Capitol Hill testimony, indicating rate cuts could be considered if the effects prove temporary.
As he did during his testimony Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell would not put a timetable on when he thinks further interest rate cuts will be possible, despite the heavy pressure President Donald Trump has exerted to get the Fed to cut rates.
Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed slightly higher. The S&P 500 ended the session near the flatline at 6,092.16 as investors watched to see if the benchmark index could return to its all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.31% to close at 19,973.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 106.59 points, or 0.25%, settling at 42,982.43.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Alex Harring and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
