Mumbai, Feb. 26 -- Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday as inflation and trade war fears offset Chinese AI optimism.

Tariff worries prevailed as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a probe into potential tariffs on copper imports to boost US production of the critical metal.

Treasury yields rebounded but the dollar remained undermined by growth worries. Gold hovered near one-week lows despite rising bets on earlier Fed rate cuts.

Oil bounced off two-month lows after the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week.

If confirmed by the EIA later in the day, it would mark the first decline in U.S. crude oil inventories since mid-January.

China's Shanghai Composite index rallied 1.02 percent to 3,380.21 ...