Asian indexes mixed in choppy trading, echoing Wall Street

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed in choppy trading Thursday, as inflation worries and the war in Ukraine had investors partly optimistic while staying cautious.

Benchmarks rose in Japan, South Korea and Australia, boosted by the overnight rally in Europe and in the Dow in the U.S. Investors were also watching South Korean trade numbers for April, which showed a trade deficit, although both imports and exports rose.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking at a forum of Asian leaders, said his government supports talks to resolve international disputes, but opposes the use of sanctions. Xi’s comments were China’s latest attempt to describe an approach to Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing has backed Moscow, refusing to call the conflict an invasion and saying Russia was provoked by NATO’s expansion.

What central banks may indicate on interest rates and inflation was also of concern, analysts said.

“Market focus will remain on inflation and the Ukraine-Russia situation ” ahead of the Thursday IMF panel discussion with U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, said Lavanya Venkateswaran of Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.2% to finish at 27,553.06. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 7,592.80. South Korea's Kospi surged 0.4% to 2,729.04. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.8% to 20,568.12, while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.8% to 3,095.62.

Wall Street's major stock indexes ended mixed on a day dominated by the drop in Netflix shares, which lost more than a third of their value after the company reported its first subscriber loss in more than a decade and predicted more grim times ahead.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after a late-afternoon fade, while the Nasdaq fell 1.2%....