Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Friday as Apple Inc’s impressive earnings helped spur some bargain hunting at lower levels after a big sell-off earlier this week amid hawkish Fed comments.
Chinese shares fell to close at a 16-month low ahead of next week’s Lunar New Year holiday. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 32.81 points, or 0.97 percent, to 3,361.44 despite state-backed newspapers and fund houses trying to calm investor nerves.
Battery maker CATL rose over 3 percent after a robust profit forecast. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.08 percent to 23,550.08.
Japanese shares recovered from a 14-week low, with transport, real estate and paper & pulp stocks outperforming. The Nikkei average rallied 547.04 points, or 2.09 percent, to 26,717.34 while the broader Topix index closed 1.87 percent higher at 1,876.89.
Fuji Electric surged 10.4 percent after posting strong earnings. Softbank advanced 2.2 percent on news of the departure of Claure, one of the company’s top decision makers along with Vision Fund head Rajeev Misra, after a billion-dollar pay dispute.
Australian markets posted robust gains, with financials, telecommunications, property, healthcare and industrials pacing the gainers ahead of the Reserve Bank’s first meeting of the year due on Tuesday.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 149.80 points, or 2.19 percent, at 6,988.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index jumped 151.80 points, or 2.13 percent, to settle at 7,266.30.
Synlait Milk shares soared as much as 10.7 percent after the dairy firm raised its milk price forecast from $NZ8.00 per kilo of milk solids to $NZ9.25kg.
Seoul stocks rallied after the release of encouraging industrial output and retail sales data. The Kospi average climbed 48.85 points, or 1.87 percent, to 2,663.34, snapping a five-day losing streak.
Chip and chemical heavyweights topped the gainers list as retail investors scooped up local stocks ahead of the three-day Lunar New Year holiday starting Monday. Samsung Electronics gained 2.8 percent, chipmaker SK Hynix surged 6.2 percent and LG Chem added 4.8 percent.
New Zealand shares ended sharply lower in response to rising interest rates as central banks try to rein in inflation. The benchmark NZX-50 index plunged almost 200 points to 11,852.15 – its lowest level since October 2020, dragged down by utilities. Mercury NZ, Vector and Meridian Energy all fell around 4 percent.
U.S. stocks gave up sharp early gains to end mostly lower overnight as concerns about inflation, interest rates and stock valuations overshadowed data showing strong GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 and shrinking unemployment claims.
Separate reports showed steeper than expected drops in durable goods orders and pending home sales in December.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped as much as 1.7 percent in early trading before reversing direction to end 1.4 percent lower, marking its lowest closing level in eight months.
The S&P 500 dropped half a percent to a nearly four-month closing low while the Dow finished marginally lower.
Market Analysis
Asian Shares Mostly Higher As Apple Beats Estimates
2022-01-28 08:46:03
