Asia-Pacific markets mixed as Trump softens trade stance against China

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street as a possible thaw in U.S.-China trade war fuels investor optimism.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose over 1%, extending the previous day’s gains. The Topix added 0.81%. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.47% while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.15%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.56%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.29% while mainland China’s CSI 300 traded flat.

South Korea’s GDP contracted 0.1% in the first quarter of 2025, according to advance figures released Thursday, missing the 0.1% rise expected by a Reuters poll.

U.S. futures were subdued after the major U.S. indexes posted a second straight winning day. S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures traded nearly 0.1% higher. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 45 points, or 0.1%.

Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed higher on hopes that U.S.-China trade tensions could soon ease. President Donald Trump also signaled he does not plan to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from his post as central bank leader.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 419.59 points, or 1.07%, to close at 39,606.57. The S&P 500 climbed 1.67% to end at 5,375.86, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.50% to settle at 16,708.05. All three indexes posted back-to-back gains.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Brian Evans contributed to this report.