Bangkok, Jun 26 (AP) Shares were mixed in Asia on Thursday after US stocks stayed near their all-time highs as financial markets caught their breath following recent bouts of volatility.

The dollar weakened against the Japanese yen and euro and oil prices were steady.

Attention was shifting to upcoming releases of US data on durable goods orders, employment and consumer spending and how they might affect monetary policy.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.7 per cent to 39,584.58 as attention shifted to a July 9 deadline for trade agreements to help stave off higher US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Japan's lead trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, was due to visit Washington for another round of talks, with 25 per cent US import duties on Japanese vehicles a main point of contention.

Chinese markets were mixed. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.6 per cent to 24,321.26, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.2 per cent to 3,448.45.

In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.9 per cent to 3,079.56 as traders sold shares to lock in recent gains.

Australia's S and P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1 per cent to 8,550.80.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.3 per cent and the SET in Bangkok also gained 0.3 per cent.

On Wednesday, the S and P 500 barely budged, closing at 6,092.16. That's just 0.8 per cent below its all-time high set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2 per cent to 42,982.43, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 per cent to 19,973.55.

In the oil market, which has been the centre of much of this week's action, crude prices have stabilised after plunging by roughly USD 10 per barrel earlier this week.

Benchmark US crude rose 23 cents early Thursday to USD 65.15 per barrel, though it still remains below where it was before the fighting between Israel and Iran broke out nearly two weeks ago.

Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 29 cents to USD 66.72 per barrel.

A fragile ceasefire between the two countries appears to be holding, at least for the moment.

On the winning side of Wall Street, Bumble jumped 25.1 per cent after the online dating platform said it would cut about 30 per cent of its workforce, or 240 jobs, to save up to USD 40 million in annual costs.

QuantumScape rallied 30.9 per cent after announcing a breakthrough in its process for making solid-state batteries. Solid state battery technology promises to improve electric vehicle range, decrease charging times and minimize the risk of battery fires, but they are costly to research and hard to make on a large scale, giving them a reputation for being a Holy Grail for battery engineers all over the world.

Companies involved in the cryptocurrency industry, meanwhile, rose as the price of bitcoin continued to steam ahead with investors willing to take on more risk. Coinbase Global, the crypto exchange, climbed 3.1 per cent as bitcoin topped USD 107,000.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.28 per cent from 4.30 per cent late Tuesday.

Yields had dropped a day earlier after the chair of the Federal Reserve told Congress it is waiting for the right moment to resume cutting interest rates. By lowering rates, the Fed could give the economy a boost, but it could also fuel inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated to a Senate committee Wednesday that he wants to wait and see how President Donald Trump's tariffs affect the economy and inflation before committing to its next move. He added it's possible that tariffs won't increase inflation by very much.

Trump has pushed for rate cuts to help reduce interest costs the federal government pays on its debt and he has sharply criticized Powell for not reducing borrowing costs, calling him a “numbskull” and a “fool”, adding to speculation that he will move to replace the central bank's chair to seek more influence over the Fed.

That has helped pull the US dollar lower.

Early Thursday, the dollar was trading at 144.79 Japanese yen, down from 145.26 yen. The euro rose to USD 1.1685 from USD 1.1661.

“Traders smelled what this was, an open audition for for who can promise the deepest cuts and the most pliant policy,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. (AP) PY PY