Asian stocks traded mixed.

Photo caption — Investors monitor a stock market index in Jiangsu province, China. Photo: THX/VNA.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan fell 0.6%. South Korea's KOSPI index ended a five-session winning streak as investors aggressively took profits after a period of rapid gains, amid ongoing deadlock in peace talks between the US and Iran. The won also weakened sharply against the US dollar. After briefly rising to 7,999.67 points early in the session, the KOSPI closed down 179.09 points, or 2.29%, at 7,643.15 points.

Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank, said that the fact that the US and Iran have not moved closer to a solution to the negotiating deadlock has caused Brent crude oil prices to continue their upward trend from the previous session.

In Japan, Tokyo stocks rose on positive earnings results from technology companies, although gains were tempered by profit-taking following a rise in crude oil prices. Investors also questioned the possibility of currency intervention after the US dollar unexpectedly fell sharply to around 157 yen/USD in afternoon trading in Tokyo. At the close, the Nikkei 225 index rose 324.69 points, or 0.52%, to 62,742.57 points. The Topix index gained 31.97 points, or 0.83%, to 3,872.90 points.

In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index reversed course and edged down less than 0.1% to 26,395.36 points, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.4% to 4,210.44 points.

Meanwhile, European stocks plunged at the opening of trading on May 12, as hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran weakened, driving oil prices higher and making investors cautious.

US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was in a "fragile" state, after Iran rejected a US proposal to end the conflict and made a series of demands that Trump called "nonsense."

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.1% to 605.79 points at 07:03 GMT (14:03 Vietnam time). Major markets across the region also declined, with the UK's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX both falling by more than 1%.

The risk of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital global energy shipping lane – continues to pressure European markets heavily reliant on imported energy, keeping indices lower than pre-conflict levels. Official figures released on May 12 showed German inflation rose slightly to 2.9% in April. Meanwhile, US inflation data, expected later that day, is also being closely watched by investors to assess the impact of the Iran conflict.

The market is also closely watching Trump's visit to China, which begins on May 13th, although expectations for breakthroughs on Iran or trade are considered low. Daniel Casali, chief investment strategist at Evelyn Partners, commented that investors should not expect major deals.

US inflation data expected to be released on May 12th is projected to show the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2026 rising 3.7% year-on-year, higher than the 3.3% increase in the previous month. Any signal that the Federal Reserve (Fed) may have to raise interest rates this year – instead of cutting them as expected before the outbreak of hostilities – risks causing significant market volatility.

Global bond yields continued to rise, led by a sell-off in UK government bonds after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's speech on May 11 failed to allay investor concerns about his political future following the Labour Party's heavy defeat in the local elections. The yield on 30-year UK government bonds rose 0.11 percentage points to 5.794%, its highest level since 1998. The British pound fell 0.7% to $1.352, becoming the biggest loser among major currencies against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year US government bonds rose 0.2 percentage points to 4.43%.

On the same day, in the Vietnamese market, the VN-Index increased by 5.6 points (0.3%) to 1,901.10 points. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index increased by 5.22 points (2.1%) to 253.28 points.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/chung-khoan-chau-a-giao-dich-trai-chieu-20260512162747300.htm