Asian markets settled mixed on Thursday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight as the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. Meanwhile, investors were awaiting cues from upcoming trade negotiations between China and the United States. The US and the UK are expected to announce a deal to reduce tariffs later today. Chinese markets rose as defense shares surged due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, while Hong Kong markets gained after Chinese authorities rolled out interest rate cuts and other moves to help support the faltering economy. Moreover, Japanese markets ended up as chip-related shares followed their US peers higher.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,352.00 | 9.33 | 0.28 |
| Hang Seng | 22,775.92 | 84.04 | 0.37 |
| Jakarta Composite | 6,827.75 | -98.48 | -1.44 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,542.74 | -7.16 | -0.46 |
| Nikkei 225 | 36,928.63 | 148.97 | 0.40 |
| Straits Times | 3,848.22 | -17.15 | -0.45 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,579.48 | 5.68 | 0.22 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 20,543.40 | -3.09 | -0.02 |
