Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said the Kremlin has had no contact with U.S. representatives in recent days, but technical contacts via diplomatic channels continue.

Explosions heard at Iran's Bandar Abbas port, Iranian state television reported.

China A-shares opened higher, traded up, then pulled back in the afternoon; ChiNext and the Shenzhen Composite fell more than 2% intraday. At close the Shanghai Composite was up 0.85%, the Shenzhen Composite down 0.71% and the ChiNext Index up 0.42%. Oil & gas exploration led gains: Keli Co. surged >23% and CNOOC hit the daily limit. Power stocks rallied with nearly 15 names hitting daily limits, including Huayin Electric, Huadian Liaoning, Li New Energy and Jinkai New Energy. Coal stocks strengthened with multiple limit-ups including Yankuang Energy, Huaibei Mining and Dayou Energy. Liquor names were active: Gujinggong hit the limit, Kweichow Moutai +~6% and Wuliangye +4%+. Other top sectors included dividend plays, brokerages, autos, airports, insurers and banks. Biggest decliners were MLCCs, PCBs, photolithography equipment, helium, advanced packaging and memory chips. Combined turnover on Shanghai and Shenzhen reached 2.70 tln yuan, up about 47.2 bln yuan from the previous session. Roughly 1,700 stocks rose and 3,700 fell.