Asian markets continue to show resilience, with traders remaining cautiously optimistic as they navigate year-end trading amidst mixed global cues and expectations of a more accommodative monetary policy environment in 2025.
However, trading volumes remain subdued as investors approach the end of a holiday-shortened week.
Nikkei breaches 40,000 mark
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is significantly higher, building on gains from the previous sessions.
Positive reactions to domestic economic data, including retail sales growth exceeding expectations, have boosted sentiment.
Retail sales in Japan rose 2.8% year-on-year in November, surpassing the 1.7% growth forecast and recovering strongly from a revised 1.3% increase in October.
The Nikkei 225 is up 629 points or 1.59%, trading at 40,197.96 after touching an intraday high of 40,203.40.
Gains are led by index heavyweights and technology stocks, with SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing advancing over 1%.
Automakers Toyota and Honda are also contributing to the rally, gaining more than 1% and 1.5%, respectively.
Kospi continues to dip as political crisis deepens
South Korea’s Kospi index fell below the 2,400 mark on Friday morning amid heavy selling by foreign and domestic institutional investors.
The weakness in the market persists as the Korean political crisis gets deeper.
South Korea’s opposition parties have filed an impeachment motion against the acting president, Han Duck-soo,
The Kospi stood at 2,394.71 down 1.44% from the previous close.
After opening 0.42% lower at 2,419.46, the index extended losses to dip below 2,400.
While individual investors were net buyers, foreign and institutional investors were net sellers.
Other Asian markets remain mixed
Hong Kong stocks were jittery as the market reopened after a two-day break, following an official report revealing a fourth consecutive month of profit declines for Chinese industrial companies, raising concerns about corporate earnings.
The Hang Seng Index was up 0.12% to 20,121.80, while the Hang Seng Tech Index rose over 1%.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index edged down 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.1% in early trade.
But we were seeing some recovery in the mid-market hours of trading on Thursday.
The Australian stock market is also notably higher, extending its upward momentum for the third consecutive session.
The S&P/ASX 200 is up 36.70 points or 0.45%, trading at 8,257.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index has gained 43.10 points or 0.51% to reach 8,514.60. Gains are broad-based, led by strength in mining and energy sectors.
The Australian market reopened on Friday after holidays on Wednesday and Thursday, with optimism from Wall Street’s mixed performance providing some support.
Wall Street ends mixed
After opening lower on Thursday, US stocks regained ground throughout the day, with the major averages ending the session narrowly mixed.
The Dow edged up 28.77 points, or 0.1%, to close at 43,325.80, while the Nasdaq slipped 10.77 points, or 0.1%, to 20,020.37, and the S&P 500 dipped 2.45 points, or less than 0.1%, to 6,037.59.
The Dow marked its fourth consecutive day of gains following a ten-day losing streak.
Early losses were driven by profit-taking after recent market gains, which saw the Nasdaq and S&P 500 recover nearly all of last week’s declines.
On the economic front, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims unexpectedly edged lower to 219,000 for the week ended December 21, down 1,000 from the previous week’s 220,000.
Economists had forecast an increase to 224,000.
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