Asia stocks trade mixed on Thursday, despite positive momentum carried over from a strong Wall Street close, which was supported by encouraging earnings reports from major U.S. banks. Australia was a significant outlier, with shares hitting record highs, fueled by weaker-than-expected jobs data, which increased market expectations for the Reserve Bank of Australia ( RBA ) to implement further policy easing (interest rate cuts). The overall advance in the region was limited by renewed U.S.-China trade tensions, leading investors to remain cautious. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested a possible extension of Chinese import duty pauses if Beijing halts new rare-earth export controls. The U.S. is nearing completion of a trade deal with South Korea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday, adding he expects an announcement within the next 10 days. Gold prices rose above $4,230 per ounce on Thursday, continuing its rally to a new record, driven by safe-haven demand and growing expectations of a dovish US monetary policy. Japan ( NKY:IND ) rose 1.31% to around 48,000 while the broader Topix Index added 0.8% to 3,210 on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session. The Japanese yen strengthened past 151 per dollar on Thursday, rising for the third straight session, as the path for Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi to become the next prime minister remains highly uncertain following the coalition breakup with the Komeito party last week. Japan’s core machinery orders—which exclude volatile sectors such as ships and electric power—fell 0.9% month-over-month to ¥8890 billion in August 2025, improving from a sharp 4.6% drop in July but missing market expectations for a 0.4% gain. Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura warned against premature monetary tightening, saying Japan must avoid returning to a period of stagnant prices and wages. In a speech in Osaka today, he cautioned against allowing inflation to persist beyond moderate levels. The Bank of Japan should maintain its loose monetary policy and raise interest rates only gradually amid persistent global trade uncertainties, said Deputy Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department Nada Choueiri. China ( SHCOMP ) fell 0.09% to 3,920, while the Shenzhen Component added 0.1% to 13,130 on Thursday, marking a second straight session of gains amid bets that Beijing would introduce new stimulus to combat deflationary pressures and the impact of higher US tariffs, and the offshore yuan Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the U.S. might extend a pause on import duties on Chinese goods beyond three months if Beijing cancels plans for strict new export controls on rare-earth elements. Investors are eyeing key Chinese data next week, including September industrial output, retail sales, Q3 GDP, and the monthly loan prime rate fixing. Meantime, China’s September CPI and PPI continued to highlight persistent deflation risks. Hong Kong ( HSI ) fell 0.60%, little changed in Thursday morning trade, hovering around 25,895 after Wednesday’s rally. India ( SENSEX ) rose 0.53% to 82,978 in morning trade on Thursday, gaining for the second straight session, supported by optimism over quarterly earnings and continued foreign inflows. However, the rally was partially offset by slight losses in the tech sector, ahead of earnings reports from Infosys and Wipro, two of the country's largest IT firms. The central bank’s meeting minutes showed policymakers increasingly open to easing, with Governor Malhotra noting that the downward revision in inflation projections provides policy space to support growth. The central bank has revised its inflation forecast for 2025–26 to 2.6%, down from 3.1% in August and 3.7% in June, while raising the GDP growth forecast to 6.8% from 6.5%. Australia ( AS51 ) rose 0.84% to a fresh all-time high above the key 9,000 level on Thursday, lifted by gains in gold stocks amid record-high bullion prices, while investors assessed the latest jobs data. The Australian dollar weakened below $0.650 on Thursday, reversing the previous session’s gains, after a softer job report revived expectations of an RBA rate cut. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the unemployment rate rose more than expected to 4.5% , the highest in nearly four years, while employment increased by just 14,900, below forecasts for a 20,000 gain. In the U.S. on Wednesday, all three major indexes ended volatile session mostly higher despite ongoing US-China trade tensions and a lingering government shutdown. U.S. stock futures were subdued on Thursday, as traders weighed strong earnings against rising U.S.-China trade tensions: Dow +0.08% ; S&P 500 +0.02% ; Nasdaq +0.02% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Australia jobless rate rises to 4.5% in Sept; employment growth misses estimates China CPI falls beyond forecast amid steeper food price; PPI deflation continues for 36th month China's exports surge to six-month high, driving September trade surplus to $90.45B Stock index futures rebound as Trump downplays China rift Japan's producer prices rises more than expected in September to 2.7%
