HONG KONG (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia and oil prices slipped on Thursday as conflict escalated in the Middle East, with Iran and the U.S. launching fresh attacks.U.S. futures advanced.The United States launched more airstrikes on Iran, and Iran responded by firing at Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said their temporary ceasefire was “over.” The prospects for a lasting peace remained uncertain, with high-level talks seeking to salvage an interim agreement on ending the war still underway, according to a regional intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 reversed some of its losses from earlier in the week, gaining 1.4% to 67,743.85, helped by technology-related shares. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 5.5%, and artificial intelligence-focused investment holding firm SoftBank Group slipped 0.1%.South Korea’s Kospi index zigzagged, rising 0.6% to 7,291.91 despite a loss earlier in the day. It fell 5.4% on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics was up 0.2% on Thursday, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix gained 5.3%.
The Shanghai Composite index traded 1.7% higher at 4,036.59, even as China’s producer price index rose 4.1% in June compared to a year earlier. That was higher than May’s 3.9%, as some economists attribute the accelerating inflation to rising costs due to the Iran war.
