Tokyo, Jun 12 (AP) Asian shares were trading mixed early Thursday after Wall Street's rally stalled as investors appeared not to react much to the results of the latest round of China-US trade talks.

US futures slipped while oil prices rose.

Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.7 per cent to 38,160.80.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 0.7 per cent to 24,206.69, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1 per cent lower to 3,400.30.

In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.4 per cent to 2,919.67, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1 per cent higher to 8,604.70.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent to 6,022.24 for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged at 42,865.77 after edging down by 1 point. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.5 per cent to 3,400.30.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.57 points to 6,022.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.10 to 42,865.77, and the Nasdaq composite sank 99.11 to 19,615.88.

Several Big Tech stocks led the way lower, and a 1.9 per cent drop for Apple was the heaviest weight on the market. It has been listless this week after unveiling several modest upcoming changes to the software that runs its devices.

The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields eased after a report suggested President Donald Trump's tariffs are not pushing inflation much higher, at least not yet.

US consumers had to pay prices for food, gasoline and other costs of living that were 2.4 per cent higher overall in May than a year earlier. That was up from April's 2.3 per cent inflation rate, but it was not as bad as the 2.5 per cent that Wall Street was expecting.

A fear has been that Trump's wide-ranging tariffs could ignite an acceleration in inflation, just when it had seemed to get nearly all the way back to the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target from more than 9 per cent three summers ago. It has not happened, though economists warn it may take months more to feel the full effect of Trump's tariffs.

Trump said on Wednesday that China will supply rare-earth minerals and magnets to the United States, while his government will allow Chinese students into US universities in a deal that still needs an agreement by him and by China's leader. Trump also said that "President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!" Investors are still hoping for a more sweeping trade deal that would ease tensions between the world's two largest economies.

Hopes for such deals between the United States and countries around the world have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has charged nearly all the way back to its all-time high after dropping roughly 20 per cent below a couple months ago. Without them, the fear is that Trump's high tariffs could drive the economy into a recession while pushing inflation higher. The S&P 500 is now sitting 2 per cent below its record.

Tesla swung between gains and losses before finishing with a rise of 0.1 per cent to continue its shaky run. It has been recovering much of its big losses taken last week after Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded, which in turn raised fears about a loss of business for the electric-vehicle company. Musk on Wednesday backed away from some of his earlier comments and said they went "too far." In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.41 per cent from 4.47 per cent late on Tuesday. Shorter-term yields, which more closely track expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, fell more.

Wednesday's better-than-expected reading on inflation raised expectations along Wall Street that the Fed could cut its main interest rate at least twice by the end of the year.

In other dealings early Thursday, US benchmark crude oil gained 13 cents to USD 68.28 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 10 cents to USD 69.87 per barrel.

The US dollar slipped to 144.05 Japanese yen from 144.60 yen. The euro rose to USD 1.1521 from USD 1.1487. (AP) RUK RUK