Asian Shares and Oil Take a Hit 

Asian shares were mostly lower and US futures also fell Thursday after Wall Street retreated, dragged down by falls in Big Tech stocks.

Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel after US President Donald Trump said he was told on good authority that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has signaled fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters.

Asian markets traded mixed as investors reacted to sector-specific and global cues. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.6% to 26,850.78, weighed down by a sharp sell-off in Trip.com, whose Hong Kong-listed shares plunged over 20% after Chinese authorities launched an antitrust probe into the company. Mainland equities also weakened, with the Shanghai Composite falling 0.6% to 4,101.52.

South Korea’s Kospi outperformed the region, rising 0.5% to 4,747.85, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.3% to 8,851.00. Taiwan’s Taiex declined 0.6%, even as investors anticipated strong quarterly earnings from chipmaker TSMC, due later on Thursday.

US benchmark crude fell $2, or 3.3 %, to $59.88 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed $2.12, or 3.2 %, to $64.40 per barrel.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.9 % to 53,863.84, with technology-related stocks trading lower. SoftBank Group fell 5.6 %, testing equipment maker Advantest fell 4.1 % and chip maker Tokyo Electron fell 3.3 %.

Shares of machinery and equipment maker Toyota Industries rose 6 % following reports that automaker Toyota Motor has raised its buyout offer for the company to 18,800 yen ($118.61) per share.

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