Seoul Gazette - Stocks mostly fall as investors digest Trump-Xi talks, earnings

US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping -- their first since 2019 -- as "amazing."

The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has shaken global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.

But the two sides have yet to produce a signed agreement, which means "continued uncertainty about how that relationship will play out, because both sides, the US and China, have shown that they're kind of willing to ruffle some feathers when they think it's necessary," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Anticipation of the meeting had helped lift stocks to new records. But momentum has faded.

Wall Street indices retreated, with the Nasdaq dropping the most of the three major indices at 1.6 percent.

"The market was vulnerable to this," said CFRA's Sam Stovall, alluding to lofty equity valuations that positioned equities to drop at the "one two punch" of Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision and disappointing tech earnings.

Asia markets ended mostly lower, while in Europe both Frankfurt and London ended the day flat after wobbling in afternoon trading.

Shares in Meta dove around 11.3 percent after it reported an 83 percent drop in profits to $2.7 billion following a roughly $16-billion hit from a one-time accounting shift due to a US fiscal overhaul legislation favored by Trump.

Microsoft shares shed 2.9 percent and shares in Google-parent Alphabet rose 2.5 percent.

Analysts described the market reaction as stemming from the investor understanding that the AI boom may not be without bumps.

"The business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

If AI fails to deliver revenue streams, "the effect on share prices could be brutal," he added.

However Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said that "unless there's a significant negative surprise from the remaining tech giants yet to report, equities could well have further room to climb."

Amazon and Apple report after US markets close on Thursday.

Seoul's stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32-percent rise in on-year profits for the third quarter, driven by AI-fueled market demand for memory chips.

The European Central Bank held interest rates steady, as expected, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up.

Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025.

The Bank of Japan also held interest rates steady on Thursday, sending the yen higher, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut.

Fed chair Powell's announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.

- Key figures at around 2015 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,522.12 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,822.34 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.6 percent at 23,581.14 (close)

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,760.06 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,157.29 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 24,118.89 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1564 from $1.1601 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3142 from $1.3194

Dollar/yen: UP at 154.06 yen from 152.73 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.98 from 87.92 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $65.00 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $60.57 per barrel

burs-jmb/des

K.Han--SG