Most Asian stock markets rose on Friday, with Hong Kong shares on track to finish their best week since November, though Japanese stocks shot lower as the yen strengthened against the dollar.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slid another 221.71 points, or 1.5%, to end the week at 14,313.03
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong regained 132.88 points, or 0.6%, to 22,298.41, and 2.9% higher for the week, extending gains earlier in the week that followed the release of stronger-than-expected Chinese trade data on Wednesday.
Sentiment in Asia on Friday was helped by a positive session on Wall Street, where stocks gained despite weaker-than-expected readings on retail sales and jobless claims.
The disappointing U.S. data weighed on the dollar, which fell 0.4% against the yen overnight and extended its losses in Asian trading hours. The dollar fell below ¥102 and was last at ¥101.74, compared with ¥102.17 late Thursday in New York. The yen’s rise weighed on Japanese stocks
This week’s gains in Asia suggest that the fear which prompted a global selloff earlier this month has dissipated. Still, many markets remain in the red for the year -- the Hang Seng is down 4.2% and the Kospi is 3.4% lower.
In Sydney, shares in Rio Tinto lost 0.6% after the world’s second-largest iron ore miner swung to an annual profit thanks to cost-cutting and asset sales. The company reported a net profit of $3.7 billion U.S. in the year through Dec. 31, rebounding from a net loss of $3 billion U.S. the year before.
Shares in Newcrest Mining, meanwhile, fell 1% in Sydney, after the gold miner said that its first-half net profit fell due to a plunge in the price of the precious metal. The company said that its net profit in the six months through December was 40 million Australian dollars $36 million U.S.), down from A$323 million a year earlier.
In Singapore, DBS Group Holdings fell 0.7% after Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets reported that its fourth-quarter net profit rose nearly 6%, helped by growth in both loans and fees earned by wealth-management and other divisions.
CHINA
Data from China was also in focus on Friday. Its official consumer-price index rose 2.5% on-year last month, the same as December’s increase, but a touch higher than a 2.3% gain forecast by economists.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Index recovered 16.02 points, or 0.7%, to 2,295.57
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index added on 45.98 points, or 0.5%, to 8,513.68
Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 1.19 points to 3,038.71
Korea’s Kospi Index restored 13.32 points, or 0.7%, to 1,940.28
The New Zealand Exchange 50 index added 14.87 points, or 0.3%, to 4,888.40
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 48.15 points, or 0.9%, to 5,356.25
