Major Asian markets were mostly in positive territory on Friday afternoon following the easing of U.S.-Iran tensions, and after U.S. stocks shot to new highs overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.26%, while the Topix was up 0.26%.
On the earnings front, Japan's Familymart, the country's second-largest convenience store chain, is set to report third quarter results on Friday. Ahead of the release, the shares bounced more than 2% in the afternoon.
A day before, retail giant Fast Retailing cut its full-year outlook after worse-than-expected quarterly results, which it pinned on protests in Hong Kong and a boycott by South Korean consumers which hit sales at its Uniqlo retail stores. Its shares fell 2.73% in the afternoon.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi climbed 0.57%.
In Taiwan, investors awaited presidential and legislative elections set to take place on Saturday. Its benchmark index Taiex traded up 0.23% on Friday afternoon.
Mainland Chinese markets bucked the upward trend. The Shanghai composite was down 0.26%, while the Shenzhen composite fell 0.22% and the Shenzhen component dropped 0.23%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was flat.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.33%.
Apple suppliers in Asia were closely monitored after the tech giant's shares jumped 2.1% to a record high. That was on the back of news that iPhone sales in China rose more than 18% in December, according to Chinese government data.
In Japan, Sharp pared gains to rise 0.87% after surging around 2% in the morning, and Alps Alpine was up more than 1%. Murata rose 0.66%. South Korea's LG Display was up 1.27%. Samsung Electronics hit a new record high in intra-day trade, last rising 0.51%.
Over in Hong Kong, Sunny Optical bounced 1.42%. Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry bounced 1.72%, and Largan Precision soared 3.39%.
Australia fires
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.75%. Gold miners, however, sold off. Losses were led by Evolution Mining, which tumbled more than 6%. Newcrest Mining was down 1.43%, while Kingsgate Consolidated fell 2.22%.
The rally in gold prices had pulled back following the declining risk of a wider war in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Australia's retail sales data for November surpassed expectations, jumping 0.9% — the largest rise since last February, according to a Reuters report. A Reuters poll had forecast a 0.4% gain.
In corporate news, as bushfires continue to take a toll on the country, Australian insurer Suncorp said its bushfire-related claims since September have hit 345 million Australian dollars ($237 million), Reuters reported. Shares of the insurer rose 0.91% on Friday morning.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, continued to strengthen, building on gains through the week. It was last at 97.407.
The safe-haven Japanese yen traded at 109.53 versus the greenback, pulling back after strengthening earlier in the week.
The Australian dollar was at around $0.6874, continuing its slide through the week.
Oil prices on Thursday slipped to levels near prices before U.S.-Iran tensions shot up. During the morning of Asia hours on Friday, prices continued falling. U.S. crude futures dropped 0.35% to $59.34 per barrel, and Brent crude was down 0.34% to $65.15 per barrel.
The broader U.S. markets surged to new highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 211.81 points higher, or 0.7% at 28,956.90, inching closer to 29,000. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 3,274.70 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8% to end at 9,203.43.
Sentiment was also lifted by stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
What's on tap for Friday (all times in HK/SIN):
- Earnings: Japan's Familymart
"asian" - Google News
January 10, 2020 at 06:53AM
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