The Japan Exchange Group logo is displayed on a glass door at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as investors kept an eye on negotiations over additional fiscal stimulus in the U.S.
South Korea’s Kospi index rose 1.21% while the Kosdaq was up 0.64%. Government data released Friday showed the country’s exports in the first 10 days of December jumped 26.9% from a year ago thanks to a sales boost in major products such as semiconductors, Reuters reported.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.51% while the Topix index traded lower by 0.1%.
Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.26%, with most sectors trading in the red. The heavily-weighted financials subindex declined 0.37% as three of the country’s so-called Big Four banks struggled for gains. Westpac shares, however, ticked up 0.13%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.86%. Chinese mainland shares declined: The Shanghai composite was down 0.13%, the Shenzhen composite lost 0.67% and the Shenzhen component fell 0.6%.
Friday’s session followed a mixed end on Wall Street where the S&P 500 registered back-to-back losses — U.S. futures traded flat.
Markets are “having to balance a weak short-term picture against a much rosier medium-term as vaccines start to be rolled out,” said Tapas Strickland, director of economics and markets at the National Australia Bank, in a morning note. “In this environment equities have largely held onto recent gains.”
Currencies and Oil
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers, fell 0.17% to 90.672, down from levels above 90.800 in the previous session.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 103.99 per dollar, strengthening from an earlier level around 104.27. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar advanced 0.28% to $0.7554.
Oil prices rose during Asian trading hours on Friday: U.S. crude futures were up 0.36% at $46.95 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent rose 0.24% to $50.37.
Source: CNBC