Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday amid lingering worries about the war in Ukraine and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on future rate hikes.
Chinese shares ended higher after having fallen earlier in the day on the back of disappointing forex exchange reserves data and concerns over a worsening Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.47 percent to 3,251.85. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.29 percent to 21,872.01 even as Chinese tech stocks declined for a third day in view of Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s decision to shut its game streaming service.
Japanese shares ended modestly higher, reversing an early slide. The Nikkei average rose 0.36 percent to 26,985.80 but fell 2.46 percent for the week, its poorest showing in a month on Fed and Ukraine worries.
Camera maker Nikon jumped 7.6 percent on share buyback news. Telecommunications firm NTT surged a little over 4 percent and KDDI added 1.8 percent.
Toyota Motor gave up 3.4 percent on reports that the automaker could face an A$2 billion ($1.5 billion) payout over faulty diesel particulate filters.
Australian markets eked out modest gains but posted a small loss for the week amid worries about the war in Ukraine and the prospect of aggressive rate hikes by central bank around the world.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.47 percent higher at 7,478, led by gains in the mining sector. GrainCorp soared 5.8 percent to hit a record high after the grains handler said it expects underlying profit for fiscal 2022 to be around 2.5 times that of last year.
Seoul stocks edged up slightly as investors digested the latest earnings updates from electronic majors like Samsung and LG Electronics. The Kospi average inched up 0.17 percent to 2,700.39.
Samsung Electronics slipped 0.3 percent, a day after if forecast record quarterly revenue. LG Electronics jumped 6.6 percent after its preliminary first-quarter operating profit rose 6.4 percent year-on-year.
New Zealand shares fluctuated before ending marginally lower for the day. Transport fleet data company Eroad lost 14.9 percent after founder Steven resigned as chief executive. My Food Bag shares surged 14.6 percent after the meal kit company unveiled positive preliminary results for the year to March 31.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended a choppy session higher and the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note hit a three-year high, as investors pondered the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
The Dow edged up 0.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index inched up marginally and the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent.
Business News
Asian Shares Mixed On Rate Hike Fears
2022-04-08 08:40:08
