By YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday, following losses on Wall Street, as investors grappled with the recent volatility that has rocked global markets.

The Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 was able to make up for earlier losses and was trading 0.5 percent lower at 34,915.47 in afternoon trading. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4 percent to 7,673.10. The South Korean Kospi fell by 0.7 percent to 2,551.36.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.8 percent to 17,018.62. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 percent to 2,877.28.

Taiwan’s Taiex fell 1.9%, while computer chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. lost 2.5%, in line with losses in the technology sector on Wall Street and elsewhere.

Some semiconductor equipment makers and related companies also posted further losses. Advantest Corp. lost 3.2 percent and Disco Corp. sank 4 percent. Shares of Lasertec Corp., however, rose 22.6 percent after the company reported a 28 percent increase in net profit for the fiscal year ended June 30.

The S&P 500 and Dow futures were little changed.

Although Wall Street stocks plunged on Wednesday, the decline was not as severe as the manic moves that rocked global markets earlier in the week. European markets posted strong gains.

Japanese policymakers sought to calm concerns about possible interest rate hikes on Wednesday, after a hike in the benchmark rate on Monday contributed to heavy selling as the Nikkei suffered its biggest percentage loss since 1987.

The Japanese yen remained relatively stable after gaining sharply against the U.S. dollar, prompting investors to dump stocks on Friday and Monday. The U.S. dollar fell to 146.24 Japanese yen from 146.72 yen. The euro was trading at 1.0935 dollars, down from 1.0927 dollars.

Investors are also closely following earnings reports released around the world.

Honda Motor Co. and Sony Corp. both reported relatively positive financial results this week. Honda’s shares rose more than 1 percent, while Sony gave up its early gains and fell 0.7 percent.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent after an earlier 1.7 percent rise fizzled out, closing at 5,199.50 points. The Dow fell 0.6 percent to 38,763.45 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1 percent to 16,195.81 points.

The yield on two-year Treasury bonds remained at the same level as late Tuesday at 3.99% on Wednesday.

Nvidia, one of the most influential companies on Wall Street, lost 4.4 percent in the morning but then lost 5.1 percent, becoming the heaviest weight in the index. Nvidia and other big tech stocks have struggled amid concerns that their prices have shot up too much amid Wall Street excitement about artificial intelligence.

Helping to limit losses on Wall Street was Apple, whose shares rose 1.2 percent. The company recovered some of its losses from earlier in the week after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced that it had reduced its stake in the iPhone maker.

High earnings are supporting markets, even as concerns about the outlook for the US economy grow due to relatively weak labor market data.

Strong earnings reports continue to come in from the largest U.S. companies, and growth among companies included in the S&P 500 index could be the best since 2021, according to FactSet.

Wall Street expects the Fed to cut its benchmark interest rate by either the usual quarter of a percentage point or a more drastic half a percentage point at its next meeting next month.

In energy trading, US oil rose 17 cents to $75.40 per barrel. Brent oil, the international standard, rose 6 cents to $78.39 per barrel.