Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as as investors assess US-China trade talk

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday as investors assess US-China trade talk, after key Wall Street benchmarks rose on easing trade tensions between the two global economic superpowers.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.68%, giving up gains after four consecutive positive sessions. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.53%.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was flat.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.96% while mainland China’s CSI 300 traded flat.

Wall Street rebounded after the U.S. and China reached a temporary truce on tariffs earlier this week. The development led to stocks surging with the Dow gaining more than 1,000 points Monday.

At current levels, however, Julius Baer strategists remain cautious, adding that the bank “does not share the prevailing optimism” regarding a quick resolution of the trade conflict.

“Even if new deals are announced, they are likely to involve complex conditions and protracted implementation timelines, making a full rollback of tariffs to pre-conflict levels unlikely,” the bank said in a Tuesday note.

Investors will be keeping an eye on Asian chip stocks after shares of Nvidia jumped following CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks that the company will sell more than 18,000 of its latest artificial intelligence chips to Saudi firm Humain, a new AI startup owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund.

U.S. stock futures were little changed as Wall Street looks to extend a strong start to the week. Futures tied to the S&P 500 were flat, as were Nasdaq 100 futures. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 30 points, or less than 0.1%.

Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 rose, clawing back into positive territory for the year as investors extended the sharp gains seen in the previous session. The broad market index gained 0.72% to close at 5,886.55, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.61% to end at 19,010.08.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, losing 269.67 points, or 0.64%, as a nearly 18% drop in shares of UnitedHealth pressured the benchmark.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Yun Li contributed to this report.