Asian markets closed in the green on Friday, after the release of strong private payrolls stateside and as President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would be withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.
The Nikkei 225 improved on Thursday’s enormous gain, picking up 317.25 points, or 1.6%, to 20,177.28. It was the first time since August 2015 that the index crossed the 20,000 mark.
The Hang Seng Index vaulted 114.53 points, or 0.4%, to 25,924.05
Shares of Japanese automakers traded higher after May auto sales in the U.S. reflected that Nissan and Honda recorded increases in sales on year, while Toyota fell just short. Nissan shares jumped 2.7% to close at 1,098 yen a share, Honda was up 2.6% at 3,194 yen a share and Toyota was higher by 1.7% at 6,092 yen.
Korean automakers closed in the red after U.S. auto sales reflected weaker sales in May on year for Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. Hyundai fell 1.5% to close at 163,000 won a shares and Kia tumbled 0.9%
Hong Kong-listed gaming stocks were higher. This followed news that revenues of Macau casinos rose amidst the ongoing anti-corruption drive and capital controls in China.
Gaming revenues surged 24% to 22.7 billion Macau patacas ($2.83 billion U.S.) in the month of May. Melco International Development gained 0.5%, Sands China was up 1.6% and Wynn Macau rose 1.4%
Australian markets were boosted by financial stocks, which traded higher, while shares of major miners were up by more than 1%.
The U.S. dollar/yen pairing hit a one-week high, with the greenback fetching 111.61 yen. This was higher than levels around 110.8 seen earlier in the week.
The Australian dollar was steady following two consecutive sessions of declines. The Aussie traded as low as $0.7368 U.S. in the last session after the release of weaker-than-expected private sector manufacturing numbers out of China yesterday. The Aussie last traded at $0.7382 U.S.
Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. would withdraw from the climate agreement, but wanted to negotiate for new arrangements that were more "fair" to the U.S. In response, European leaders said in a statement that the Paris agreement "cannot be renegotiated." The agreement aims to ensure global temperatures do not rise more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
CHINA
The CSI 300 lost 11.23 points, or 0.3%, to 3,486.51
Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China set the reference point for the yuan at 6.8070 to the U.S. dollar — compared to the yuan's last close of 6.8062. The yuan hit a seven-month high in the last session. In the on-shore market, the yuan traded at 6.8137 per dollar, while the offshore yuan traded at 6.7886 to the dollar.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index improved 65.11 points, or 0.7%, to 10,152.53
In Korea, the Kospi index regained 27.11 points, or 1.2%, to 2,371.72
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 4.05 points, or 0.1%, to 3,240.01
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 49.08 points, or 0.7%, to 7,499.97
In Australia, the ASX 200 spiked 49.99 points, or 0.9%, to 5,788.11
