Asia-Pacific equity markets traded mixed on Friday, with South Korea extending its record-breaking rally as technology heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix climbed to fresh all-time highs.
Investors also continued to assess the durability of the United States-brokered peace agreement between Washington and Tehran after U.S. Vice President JD Vance reiterated that any economic benefits for Iran would be contingent on full compliance with the terms of the deal.
By 11:20 am AEST (1:20 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 had fallen 0.9%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to trade at fresh record highs. South Korea's KOSPI 200 outperformed regional peers, surging 3.4% to a new record high.
Economic data from South Korea showed producer prices rose for a ninth consecutive month in May, driven largely by higher petroleum and raw material costs linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
Preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed the producer price index (PPI), a key indicator of future consumer inflation, increased 0.8% in May from the previous month. The result marked a slowdown from April's 2.8% monthly increase.
On an annual basis, producer prices climbed 8.5% in May.
In Japan, inflation data suggested underlying price pressures remained relatively contained despite rising energy costs.
Japan's core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food prices, remained unchanged at 1.4% in May, matching market expectations and holding steady from April's reading.
Headline inflation edged up to 1.5% from 1.4% a month earlier, while the closely watched "core-core" inflation measure, which excludes both fresh food and energy prices, eased to 1.8% from 1.9%.
The data follows the Bank of Japan's recent decision to lift interest rates to their highest level since 1995. Policymakers have warned that elevated energy prices could push their preferred measure of underlying inflation above the central bank's 2% target.
Overnight on Wall Street, U.S. equities finished the holiday-shortened week higher as semiconductor stocks drove a broad-based rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.9%.
Commodity markets were mixed on Thursday. ICE Brent crude oil rose 0.4% to settle at US$79.85 a barrel, while spot gold declined 1.1% to US$4,209.08 an ounce.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4% to 4,090.5, while the CSI 300 edged 0.2% higher to 4,941.6.
Hong Kong equities underperformed, with the Hang Seng Index dropping 1.6% to 23,924.8, its lowest closing level since 10 July 2025.
Indian stocks continued their upward trend, with the BSE Sensex gaining 0.3% to 77,410.0, extending a run of multi-week highs.
European markets delivered a mixed performance overnight. The UK's FTSE 100 declined 1.0% to 10,399.7, while Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 25,026.8 and France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 8,468.0.
