HIMINO, Bank of Japan deputy governor, said the recent easing of Middle East tensions is not materially different from the BOJ's April outlook.

SK Hynix's market capitalization briefly exceeded Samsung Electronics intraday, making it South Korea's largest company by market value.

Hong Kong stocks at midday: Hang Seng Index down 0.98%, Hang Seng Tech Index down 1.35%. Half-day turnover on the Hang Seng reached HKD 200.339 bln. Sector winners included storage, semiconductors, optical communications, insurers and coal; laggards were commercial aerospace, gold, beverage chains and autos. Notable movers: Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869.HK) +27%; Zhipu (02513.HK) +17%; 02676.HK +16%; GigaDevice (03986.HK) +11%; CATL (03750.HK) and China Life (02628.HK) +5%+. Decliners: Lingbao Gold (03330.HK) -10%; Junda (02865.HK) -8%; Longfor Group (00960.HK) -7%; Geely Auto (00175.HK) -6%.