Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Japanese tech stocks showed mixed performance today, with the broader market experiencing modest movements and individual tech names displaying varied results. Also, a Tokyo inflation gauge eased to the slowest pace in more than a year as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's utility subsidies curbed household energy costs. We speak to Alice French, Bloomberg's Japan Stocks Reporter.. 

Plus -  US and Iranian officials ended the latest round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday by agreeing to reconvene as soon as next week, opening the door to further diplomacy even as President Donald Trump masses military forces in the region. With just days to go before Trump's deadline to reach an agreement, the two sides agreed to resume discussions at a technical level in Vienna. Oil pared gains given the prospect of more talks, though there was no public reaction from the US side, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. A person familiar with the US position said the Americans were leaving Geneva disappointed with the progress of the talks. Axios reported earlier that Kushner and Witkoff were disappointed by what they heard from Iranian officials in their morning session. We heard from Mara Rudman, Miller Center Practitioner Senior Fellow and Former US Deputy Envoy and Chief of Staff for the Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. She spoke to Bloomberg TV hosts Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on the Asia Trade.