Asian shares mixed after wobbly gains on Wall St

Shares were mixed in Asia on Thursday after a wobbly day of trading yielded modest gains on Wall Street.

U.S. futures were barely changed while oil prices fell back.

China's central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged. While other major economies are raising rates to cool inflation, China's economy has been slowing and price increases have been moderate.

The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.2% to 3,199.24, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.3% to 18,904.42.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2% to 27,875.91. Japan reported a record trade deficit for the month of August, driven by high costs for imports of energy and other commodities and a weak yen.

But analysts said they expect a rebalancing in coming months.

“Motor vehicle production should continue to normalize as supply chain disruptions ease, while commodity price growth has eased even further," Darren Tay of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

The Kospi in Seoul shed 0.4% to 2,401.83, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% to 6,842.90.

Trading was tentative in New York on Wednesday, a day after the market’s worst drop in two years was set off by fears that higher interest rates could cause a recession.

A report on inflation at the wholesale level showed prices are still rising rapidly, with pressures building underneath the surface, even if overall inflation slowed. It echoed a report on inflation at the consumer level Tuesday, which raised expectations for interest-rate hikes and triggered a rout for markets.

The S&P 500 added 0.3% to 3,946.01, while the Dow inched 0.1% higher, to 31,135.09. The Nasdaq gained 0.7% to 11,719.68, and the Russell 2000 picked up 0.4% to close at 1,838.46.

Traders now see a one-in-four chance the Fed may hike its benchmark rate by a full percentage...