Asian share indexes posted mixed results on Friday with the gloomy global picture, superpower friction and the incoming Bank of Japan governor all having an influence on stock prices.
China shares fell as Sino-US tensions dented investor sentiment, while Japan’s Nikkei share average posted its biggest jump in a month.
Tokyo’s benchmark bourse was boosted as chip-related stocks surged and the incoming Bank of Japan governor backed the central bank’s current easy policy.
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The Nikkei share average gained 1.29%, or 349.16 points, to close at 27,453.48, while the broader Topix was up 0.67%, or 13.15 points, to 1,988.40. Japanese markets were closed on Thursday for a national holiday.
Chip industry giants Tokyo Electron and Advantest contributed nearly half of the Nikkei’s total 349-point gain. Advantest was the Nikkei’s top performer, up 8.22%, followed by Tokyo Electron’s 7.13% advance, after US peer Nvidia forecast better-than-expected quarterly sales.
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor nominee Kazuo Ueda started several hours of lower house testimony, saying that the current BOJ policy was “appropriate” and “necessary”. Earlier in the day, data showed Japan’s consumer inflation hit a 41-year high in January.
The idea of low rates for longer lifted the Nikkei’s real estate sector by 2.19% to make it the top performer, while the same outlook sent the banking sector to a 0.67% slide.
But the session’s gains couldn’t save the Nikkei from a second straight weekly loss, dropping 0.22%.
China stocks were in retreat, though, as Sino-US tensions distracted investors and dragged most sectors lower, though aerospace defence companies jumped.
That came after the US revealed it was set to expand the number of troops helping train Taiwanese forces.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.62%, or 20.32 points, to 3,267.16, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange edged down 0.65%, or 14.08 points, to 2,140.65.
The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.68%, or 341.31 points, to 20,010.04.
US Consumption Figures
Elsewhere across the region, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok were down while Sydney, Wellington, Singapore and Jakarta rose.
Globally, investors were bracing for the release on Friday of the US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for January, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure.
The index is expected to be up 4.3% on a year earlier, compared with 4.4% the previous month.
The dollar index, which measures the safe-haven dollar against six peers, was hovering at 104.63, not too far from a seven-week high of 104.78.
Treasury yields slid a little on Friday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds eased as far as 3.8590%, compared with the previous close of 3.8810%.
In the oil market, Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $82.71 while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was up 0.7% at $75.90.
Key figures
Tokyo – Nikkei 225 > UP 1.29% at 27,453.48 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index < DOWN 1.68% at 20,010.04 (close)
Shanghai – Composite < DOWN 0.62% at 3,267.16 (close)
London – FTSE 100 > UP 0.29% at 7,930.51 (0936 GMT)
New York – Dow > UP 0.33% at 33,153.91 (Thursday close)
- Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara
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