Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as the nominee to lead the Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda spoke at a confirmation hearing.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose sharply following a day off, climbing 349.16 points, or 1.3%, Friday to end the week at 27,453.48. Japan’s core inflation in January rose 4.2%, the highest since 1981.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index went for a dive of 341.31 points, or 1.7%, to 20,010.04.
In earnings, OCBC was among the three major Singapore banks that posted a record profit for 2022 alongside DBS and UOB. Singapore’s January manufacturing output fell 2.7% on an annualized basis, in contrast to the expectation of a 2.9% rise.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 fell 42.6 points, or 1%, to 4,061.05.
In Korea, the Kospi lost 15.48 points, or 0.6%, to 2,423.61.
In Singapore, the Straits Times gained 17.37 points, or 0.5%, to 3,282.30.
In Taiwan, the Taiex tumbled 111.62 points, or 0.7%, to 15,507.79.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 17.25 points, or 0.2%, to 11,905.75.
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 21.64 points, or 0.3%, to 7,307.03.
