Asian stocks struggled in early trade on Thursday as optimism from technology earnings provided only fleeting support amid lingering concerns over artificial-intelligence spending and uncertainty in the Gulf, Reuters reported from Hong Kong. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2%, on track for a fourth straight week of decline, Japan's Nikkei gave up earlier gains to trade 0.4% lower, and Korean shares were down more than 1%.

In Seoul, the benchmark Kospi opened down 65.55 points, or 1.14%, at 5,670.11, after jumping 3.29% in the previous session, Yonhap reported via Korea JoongAng Daily. Investors weighed doubts over returns on massive AI infrastructure investments, Yonhap said, after U.S. stocks closed mixed overnight as AI-related shares rebounded following SpaceX's quarterly results.

Reuters said SpaceX posted its first profit as a public company, Meta reported third-quarter revenue that beat expectations, and AI server maker Super Micro forecast quarterly revenue and profit margin that both topped estimates — but Meta's plan to issue non-voting Class C common stock drew renewed scrutiny of AI spending. “There's a lot of noise out there at the moment and investors are still digesting this morning's results,” Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, told Reuters, adding that investors were also tackling uncertainty from an upcoming Fed decision, geopolitical risks and the U.S. midterms.

Oil and rates kept the mood cautious. Brent crude rose 1.1% to $110.03 a barrel, near a five-month high — yaani, about $110 for one barrel (roughly 159 litres). Reuters said the United States ordered diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes, while the New York Times reported the U.S. and Israeli militaries had developed specific plans for renewed attacks on Iran after the November 3 midterms. The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell 4.2 basis points to 5.1065%, the dollar index dipped to 102.2, the yen was flat at 158.125 after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino signalled readiness to raise borrowing costs, and the Korean won was muted at 1,325.9 after the Bank of Korea held its rate at 3.00% on Thursday, Reuters reported. Gold was slightly lower at $4,115.5 an ounce — yaani, about $4,116 per ounce (about 31 grams).