What is the purpose of `useMutation` in React Query and how does it handle asynchronous operations?

The `useMutation` hook in React Query is designed to manage asynchronous operations like POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE requests. It provides a stateful API to track the loading, success, error, and data associated with these mutations. It simplifies handling optimistic updates, retries, and error management, abstracting away much of the boilerplate code typically required for asynchronous data fetching.