Asia markets mixed as Trump-Xi summit, AI trade dominate

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed Thursday (May 14) as investors weighed a high-stakes US-China summit and persistent inflation concerns, which tempered optimism fuelled by record highs on Wall Street. The cautious mood came after another tech-led rally on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit fresh record highs overnight, buoyed by robust earnings and continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence investment. But investor attention centred on President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing - the first by a US president in nearly a decade - with markets hoping for progress in easing trade tensions. Analysts, though, cautioned against expecting a major breakthrough. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for the highly anticipated meeting. The two leaders met after Trump arrived in a motorcade to the steps, where a US delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and business CEOs including Elon Musk, awaited him. There was warmth from the get-go, with Trump telling Xi "we're going to have a fantastic future together" and the Chinese leader telling his American counterpart that he was "happy" for the visit. The meeting of the superpowers will likely be overshadowed by the war in the Middle East, which has seen the crucial Strait of Hormuz effectively closed - sending global energy prices soaring. International benchmark Brent crude was marginally up Thursday morning, going for a little over US$105 a barrel. In Asian markets, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei and Manila advanced, while Shanghai, Wellington and Singapore were down. Currency markets were relatively steady, with the yen slightly weaker and the yuan ticking higher. It followed significant gains in the US markets. The Nasdaq led major US indices, piling on 1.2 per cent behind big gains in most tech giants, including Nvidia and Google parent Alphabet. That came despite a US wholesale inflation report that greatly exceeded expectations, following Tuesday's rise in the consumer price index. Wholesale prices rose 6 per cent for the 12 months ending in April, according to US Department of Labor data. Month-on-month increases greatly exceeded expectations and were at their highest level since March 2022. The average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States is up around 50 per cent since the start of the war, according to the AAA motor club. Investors are now looking to the Trump-Xi talks for direction, with even modest progress on trade or technology cooperation seen as enough to boost risk appetite in the near term.