<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div> (RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets declining after China punished three brokerages for offering mainland investors access to overseas stocks without licenses. Positive sentiment prevailed elsewhere across Asia amid a surge in technology stocks and easing geopolitical tensions. The Japanese yen weakened beyond 159 per dollar after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda warned that central banks should not assess oil price movements in isolation. The dollar index was firm and gold dipped below $4,500 on ounce ahead of Thursday's U.S. PCE data, expected to show another month of elevated price pressures. Brent crude futures fell more than 2 percent below $98 a barrel as U.S.-Iran talks continued despite new American attacks on missile sites and mine-laying ships in the Strait of Hormuz. As the Middle East conflict appeared to move toward a resolution, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that any accord would likely take a few days to finalize. China's Shanghai Composite index fell 1.25 percent to 4,093.73 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.06 percent to 25,328.23 amid efforts by China to tighten control on overseas stock trading. Japanese markets gave up early gains to end little changed. The Nikkei average reached a new high at 66,428 on expectations surrounding AI before closing marginally higher at 64,999.41. The broader Topix index ended 0.52 percent lower at 3,918.01. Seoul stocks extended gains for a fourth consecutive session and scaled a new peak, lifted by surging chip and AI-related stocks. The Kospi index closed 2.25 percent higher at 8,228.70, after having surpassed the 8,450-point level in early trading. Samsung Electronics climbed 2.7 percent and SK Hynix soared 9.3 percent. Australian markets advanced after data showed consumer price inflation slowed in April following a temporary fuel tax cut. The softer print pushed traders toward a June hold for the Reserve Bank of Australia. The benchmark S&amp;P/ASX 200 rose 0.69 percent to 8,717.70, led by rate-sensitive shares. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.70 percent higher at 8,945.20. Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&amp;P/NZX-50 index rallied 1.21 percent to 13,227.81, hitting a nearly three-week high after the country's central bank kept interest rates unchanged. U.S. stocks ended mostly higher overnight as bond yields eased following comments by President Trump that negotiations with Iran &#34;are proceeding nicely.&#34; Investors shrugged off new data that showed U.S. consumer confidence eased in May due to increased worries about inflation linked to the Iran war. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&amp;P 500 surged 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively to reach new record closing highs, propelled by a rally in chip and memory stocks. The narrower Dow eased 0.2 percent. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

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Asian stocks ended mixed, with declines in China and Hong Kong after regulatory actions against brokerages. Positive sentiment in other regions was driven by technology stocks and easing geopolitical tensions. The Japanese yen weakened, while Brent crude fell below $98 amid ongoing U.S.-Iran talks. The Shanghai Composite dropped 1.25%, and the Hang Seng fell 1.06%. In contrast, Seoul's Kospi rose 2.25%, and Australian markets advanced following slower inflation data.

Asian Shares Mixed; China And Hong Kong Markets Underperform