Tokyo, Jan 14 (AP) Asian shares were trading mixed on Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from its recent records and as political uncertainty brewed in various regions, including in Iran.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1 per cent to 8,798.80 in early trading. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.6 per cent to 54,413.92 amid speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call general elections soon.

Takaichi met on Tuesday with her South Korean counterpart, President Lee Jae Myung, and they committed to working together on economic and security issues. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.1 per cent to 4,687.32 in Wednesday trading.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added nearly 0.8 per cent to 27,055.14, while the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.2 per cent to 4,187.14.

President Donald Trump announced he would impose a 25 per cent tax on imports to the United States from countries that do business with Iran. The death toll from the latest protests in Iran surpassed 2,500 as of Wednesday, according to activists.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.2 per cent from its all-time high set the day before, following mixed earnings reports from some US companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 398 points, or 0.8 per cent, from its own record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1 per cent.

US companies are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profits to justify the runs to records their stock prices have made. Analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 index to deliver earnings per share for the final three months of 2025 that are 8.3 per cent higher than a year earlier, according to FactSet.

JPMorgan Chase helped kick off the latest reporting season by delivering weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected. Its stock fell 4.2 per cent and was one of the heaviest weights on the market.

The shortfall may have been because some analysts hadn't updated their estimates to account for an earnings hit resulting from the bank's purchase of the Apple Card credit card portfolio. CEO Jamie Dimon sounded relatively optimistic about the US economy, saying “consumers continue to spend, and businesses generally remain healthy.” Delta Air Lines lost 2.4 per cent despite reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue came up short of Wall Street's expectations, as did the midpoint of its forecasted range for profit in 2026.

On the winning side of Wall Street were several health care companies that raised their financial forecasts at an industry conference with analysts.

Moderna jumped 17.1 per cent for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after saying it expects to report revenue for 2025 that's above the midpoint of the range it had forecast in November. It also offered updates on several products, including a seasonal flu vaccine that could see potential approvals beginning later this year.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 13.53 points to 6,963.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 398.21 to 49,191.99, and the Nasdaq composite sank 24.03 to 23,709.87.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after a highly anticipated update on inflation came in close to economists' expectations. The data strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate at least twice in 2026 to shore up the job market.

Lower interest rates could make borrowing cheaper for US households and boost prices for investments, but they could also worsen inflation at the same time. Tuesday's report showed that US consumers paid prices last month for gasoline, food and other costs of living that were 2.7 per cent higher overall than a year earlier. That's a touch worse than economists expected and above the Fed's 2 per cent target for inflation.

The data helped the 10-year Treasury ease to 4.17 per cent from 4.19 per cent late Monday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, inched down to 3.52 per cent from 3.54 per cent.

A day earlier, Treasury yields swung amid worries about the Federal Reserve's worsening feud with Trump. The concern is that the president's attacks on the Fed could result in a central bank that's more subservient to the White House. Experts say that this could lead to higher inflation over the long term.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude dipped 18 cents to USD 60.97 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 15 cents to USD 65.32 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar inched up to 159.16 yen from 159.13 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1645, little changed from USD 1.1647. (AP) SKS SKS