East Asia markets close mixed as China weighs

Asian equity markets remained mixed as investors balanced cautious regional sentiment with a slate of global catalysts, with Japan modestly higher while mainland China and Hong Kong faced renewed pressure in some sessions. Mainland Chinese shares weighed on sentiment across the region in several instances, even as pockets of resilience persisted in tech-focused lists elsewhere. Hong Kong and South Korea posted divergent results, with Hong Kong nudging higher in some days and Korea trading at times in the red, reflecting a fragmented regional mood. External factors shaping moves included US-Canada trade frictions, Nvidia’s upcoming earnings, and looming sanctions on Iran, alongside expectations around the Federal Reserve’s policy signals. A Treasury Department plan to boost debt repurchases briefly cooled some bond yields, but analysts expect the effect to be temporary as higher yields resume pressures on equity markets. Across the region, oil prices and shifts in global risk appetite kept the picture uneven, underscoring continued divergence among East Asian markets.