Asian stocks were mixed on Friday, as investors continued to watch developments around China Evergrande Group.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 2.06% to hit 30,248.81, with shares of Fast Retailing surging 1.5% and Softbank Group surging 2.76%. Meanwhile, the Topix index advanced 2.31% to close at 2,090.75.
Data published earlier in the day announced that the national core consumer price index (CPI) rose 0% year-on-year in August. The national CPI declined 0.4% year-on-year and 0.2% month-on-month respectively.
Moreover, the data also revealed that the manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) for September stood at 51.2.
Additionally, South Korea’s Kospi ended the session fractionally lower at 3,125.24.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 1.45% to settle at 23,155.49.
Significantly, shares of China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong slipped 11.61%. According to the Wall Street Journal, Chinese authorities have told local officials to prepare for the potential demise of Evergrande. Concerns also remain around whether Evergrande will pay the interest that was due Thursday on a dollar-denominated bond.
Mainland Chinese stocks declined on the day. Additionally, the Shanghai composite fell by 0.8% to settle at 3,613.07, while the Shenzhen component dropped 0.205% to about 14,357.85.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.37% to finish the trading day at 7,342.60.
Moreover, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined by about 0.5%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased 506.50 points to 34,764.82. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 surged 1.21% to close at 4,448.98. The Nasdaq Composite boosted 1.04% to 15,052.24.
The U.S. Fed’s decision to hike interest rates in 2022 will support the economic recovery
Thursday’s surges left the major averages on Wall Street in positive territory for the week, rebounding from earlier losses.
Furthermore, the Standard and Poor’s 500 surged 53.34 points or 1.21% to settle at 4,448.98.
Investors were also optimistic that the U.S. Fed’s decision to hike interest rates in 2022 was a sign of confidence in the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Remarkably, the central bank handed down its latest policy decision on September 22.
The dollar index, which tracks the dollar versus a basket of its peers, was at 93.149. The index is still above levels around 93 seen earlier in the week.
The safe-haven Japanese yen traded at 110.39 per dollar, having declined days earlier from around 109.2 versus the dollar. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7269 following its rise yesterday from below $0.724.
Furthermore, oil prices were mixed in Asia, with international benchmark Brent crude futures surging 0.16% to $77.37 per barrel. U.S. crude futures declined fractionally to $73.27 per barrel.
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