Sawt Falasteen - Asia stocks uneven as investors assess high-stakes Trump-Xi talks, AI rally

US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Beijing for a closely watched summit that covered thorny issues including Taiwan, but yielded few concrete outcomes in its opening phase.

The cautious mood came after another tech-led rally on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit record highs, driven by continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence investment.

Trump praised Xi as a "great leader" and "friend", predicting a "fantastic future together" in talks lasting more than two hours at the Great Hall of the People.

Xi, however, delivered a blunt warning on Taiwan -- which Beijing claims as its territory -- saying missteps could push the two powers into conflict.

Accompanying Trump was a US delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and high-powered business leaders such as Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Apple's Tim Cook and Tesla's Elon Musk.

"China's doors to the outside world will open wider and wider... American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China," Xi told the business executives, according to Chinese state media.

Experts said the presence of top executives underscored the deep economic interdependence between the two nations despite years of tensions and talk of decoupling.

SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes said in a comment that Beijing used the summit to project "stability, strategic coexistence, and economic interdependence".

"The presence of top US corporate leaders highlighted how deeply connected the American and Chinese economic systems still remain," he added.

He warned the key risks facing markets were increasingly intertwined.

"Rare earths, AI, Taiwan, and the Strait of Hormuz are now interconnected strategic pressure points shaping the next phase of global market risk," Innes said.

The meeting in Beijing took place against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and driven energy prices higher.

International benchmark Brent crude hovered just above $105 a barrel on Thursday.

Across Asia, Seoul led gains as the Kospi climbed 1.75 percent, nearing the 8,000 mark. Hong Kong, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila also advanced.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Jakarta, Wellington and Singapore slid.

Following Wall Street's lead, Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn reported a 19-percent jump in quarterly net profit, fuelled by booming demand for AI servers, and forecast strong growth in shipments this year.

But there were signs of strain elsewhere.

Japanese automaker Honda announced a $2.6 billion operating loss, its first since 1957, after a sweeping overhaul of its electric vehicle strategy in the United States, citing heavy charges and policy shifts under the Trump administration.

Honda blamed tariffs and the removal of EV incentives, as well as intensifying competition in China.

London, Paris and Frankfurt opened on the front foot, tracking the positive lead from Wall Street.

The Nasdaq led major US indices Wednesday, piling on 1.2 percent behind big gains in most tech giants, including Nvidia and Google parent Alphabet.

That came despite a US wholesale inflation report that greatly exceeded expectations, following Tuesday's rise in the consumer price index.

Wholesale prices rose six percent for the 12 months ending in April, according to US Department of Labor data.

Month-on-month increases greatly exceeded expectations and were at their highest level since March 2022.

- Key figures at around 0730 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.20 percent at 105.84 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.18 percent at 101.20 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 62,654.05 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 26,419.42

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 4,177.92 (close)

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,326.16 (open)

Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3515 from $1.3522 on Wednesday

Euro/pound: UP at 86.66 from 86.59

Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1712 from $1.1714

Dollar/yen: UP at 157.89 from 157.87

New York - DOW: DOWN 0.1 percent at 49,693.20 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 7,444.25 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.2 percent 26,402.34 (close)

G.AbuOdeh--SF-PST