Equities fluctuate as investors assessed the likelihood of a Middle East peace agreement as US-Iran talks stuttered, while Donald Trump and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu gave mixed signals over ending Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, AFP reports.

While Wall Street ends with more tech-led records, traders took a breather in Asia following a recent strong run-up, with attention also turning to the release of US jobs data at the end of the week.

With uncertainty continuing to hang over the crisis, Asian equity traders moved cautiously after a healthy, tech-fuelled run-up that has pushed some markets to record highs.

Seoul, which has been at the forefront of the rally this year, dropped almost two per cent, while Tokyo was off more than one percent, having also hit fresh new peaks.

Shanghai, Sydney and Wellington were down, though there were gains in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.