Asian markets mixed after Wall Street high

Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday amid doubts about the status of a US-Chinese trade deal after the US Federal Reserve’s chairman said it is likely to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged.

Investors were wary after The Wall Street Journal reported Chinese negotiators were reluctant to commit to the size of purchases of US farm goods in an interim agreement aimed at ending a tariff war.

President Donald Trump said last month Beijing would buy up to $50 billion of soybeans and other American farm goods. Chinese officials have never confirmed that.

Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said he expects the US economy to keep growing at a solid pace but faces risks from slower global growth and trade tension.

The Fed cut short-term rates last month for the third time this year, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.0% to 23,089.07 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9% to 26,326.24. The Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1% higher to 2,907.23.

Seoul’s Kospi edged up 0.2% to 2,126.10 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 6,730.50. Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets declined while New Zealand advanced.

On Wall Street, buying focused on safe-play stocks such as utilities, real estate companies and makers of consumer products that tend to pay higher dividends. Banks, industrial stocks and companies declined.

The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.1% to 3,094.04, a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% to 27,783.59, also a record. The Nasdaq dropped 0.1% to 8,482.10.