Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday, following a volatile session on Wall Street overnight where investors reacted to comments from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Gross Domestic Product data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 restocked 547.04 points, or 2.1%, to 26,717.34.
SoftBank Group shares rose 2.2% after the Japanese conglomerate announced a management transition where Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure will leave the company after nine years.
Claure, who was also CEO of SoftBank Group International and right-hand man to SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son, took over running WeWork after founder Adam Neumann stepped down.
Some media reported on Claure’s departure on Thursday,
Michel Combes has been appointed CEO of SoftBank Group International, where he will oversee the company’s operating and investment portfolio.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen traded at 115.66 per U.S. dollar,
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong jettisoned 256.92 points, or 1.1%, to 23,550.08. Hong Kong was slated to release its GDP report for the fourth quarter on Friday afternoon.
Some Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech giants fell: JD.com was down 2.8%, while Xiaomi shed 1.3%.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7014, down slightly from $0.7031 earlier.
In other markets
Markets in Taiwan and New Zealand remained shuttered for holiday.
In China, the CSI 300 declined 56.11 points, or 1.2%, to 4,563.77
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 48.85 points, or 1.9%, to 2,663.34
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 13.7 points, or 0.4%, to 3,246.33.
In Australia, the ASX 200 zoomed 149.86 points, or 2.2%, to 6,988.14.
