Stocks were mostly down in world markets today with the exception of Chinese markets as mainland China returned to trading after a five day holiday. The yen hit a new 15 year high which hurt exporters in Tokyo sending the markets down. The Nikkei recorded losses of 1% mainly due to the strong yen.
Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved 5.05 trillion yen ($61 billion) in new economic stimulus, the latest in a series of plans to shore up the country's stagnant economy amid a storm from the strong yen.
Japan's Nikkei closed down 95.93 points, or .99%, to 9,588.88.
Laggards today included Fast Retailing Co Ltd which dropped 2.29%, Fanuc Ltd which fell 1.84%, and Kyocera Corp which fell by 1.54% to close at 8310 yen.
Gainers were led by Secom Co Ltd; climbing 1.59%, Panasonic Corp; up by 3.43% and Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd; increasing by 1.93% to close at 1747 yen.
China’s market indices moved quickly up on Friday after the Holiday Week break assimilating the global developments from the time the markets were closed.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange closed up 83.09 points, or 3.13%, to 2,738.74.
The rise in commodities worldwide during the break drove stocks to a five month high with Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd, Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd and Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd all closing up 10% or more.
Shares in Hong Kong stayed on a roll, extending their rally for a fifth straight session on Friday.
The Hang Seng closed up; rising 59.86 points, or .26% to 22,944.18.
Elsewhere, the smaller markets were mostly down:
South Korea's Kospi dropped .20% to 1,897.07.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed down .211% to 4,681.400.
India's Sensex lost .32%.
Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell .04 points to 1,481.41.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index had its second straight down day; losing 39.23 points.
Shenzhen Composite gained 2.803% to 1,201.792.
Taiwan's Taiex slipped 39.73 points.
Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped .42%.
New Zealand's NZX 50 closed down by .11%.
Philippine shares were down .190%.
Shares in Thailand fell .794%.
