Asian stocks fell on Wednesday as markets digested the lack of progress towards Middle East peace and setbacks that rattled the boom in AI technology.
Iran's chief negotiator said on Tuesday that Washington must accept Tehran's latest peace plan or face failure, after US President Donald Trump warned the truce in the Middle East war was on the brink of collapse.
Both sides have refused to make concessions and repeatedly threatened to resume fighting, but neither appears willing to return to all-out war.
Traders are now looking to China, where Trump is due to land on Wednesday, the first visit by a US president in nearly a decade, saying he expected a "long talk" with counterpart Xi Jinping about Iran.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Sydney, Bangkok, Manila and Kuala Lumpur were all down on Wednesday.
Jakarta fell nearly two percent as the rupiah plunged to a record low.
The conflict in the Middle East has sent energy costs spiralling.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz -- through which one fifth of the world's oil supplies usually pass -- has virtually ground to a halt.
But oil prices cooled during early Asia trade, with the international benchmark Brent crude down 0.6 percent to $107 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 0.5 percent to $101 a barrel.
- Samsung strike threat - Seoul showed signs of recovery after the presidential Blue House distanced itself from calls for a social tax on artificial intelligence profits.
The tech-rich Kospi had plunged five percent on Tuesday after a top official proposed a "national dividend" to redistribute excess corporate profits from artificial intelligence.
South Korea has said it will triple....
