Japan's Nikkei 225 fell as much as 1.00% intraday.

Hong Kong shares closed higher. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.14% to 23,616.32, the Hang Seng Tech index gained 0.94% to 4,541.23. Market turnover was HK$314.7bn and southbound Stock Connect flows net bought over CNY20bn. Sector action: online gaming, pharmaceuticals, domestic life insurers and internet/tech names led gains; semiconductors, non-ferrous metals and large-model AI plays lagged. Notable movers: Zhida Technology (02650.HK) rose more than 47%, Kuaishou (01024.HK) nearly +8%, Leapmotor (09863.HK) +6.7%, China Biopharma (01177.HK) +6.5%, Tencent Holdings (00700.HK) +4.8%, Meituan (03690.HK) +4.7%; Zhipu AI (02513.HK) fell, BeiGene (06160.HK) rose over 4%. Biggest declines: Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869.HK) and Kingboard Laminates (01888.HK) -14.7%, UBTech (09880.HK) down over 10%, Kingboard Holdings (00148.HK) -9.6%, Sunny Optical (02382.HK) down more than 7%.

Barnabas Gan, chief economist at a Malaysian bank, said in a note that intensifying economic headwinds and global geopolitical uncertainty are likely to weigh on consumer and business confidence and curb discretionary spending in H2, notably in fashion and entertainment. Elevated fuel and transport costs could pass through to broader consumer prices, lift inflation and erode purchasing power. The bank maintains its forecast for Singapore retail sales growth of 3.0% in 2026.