Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday as investors digested fresh gross domestic product (GDP) data from Japan and looked ahead to further regional economic releases.
By 11:05 am AEST (1:05 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1%, trading at its highest level in three months. South Korea's Kospi 200 was flat, while Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.7%.
Japan’s economy shrank by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the March quarter, according to official figures released Friday. The contraction was slightly worse than expectations for a 0.1% decline.
Overnight in the United States, equity markets ended mixed. The S&P 500 climbed 0.4% for a fourth consecutive session, buoyed by optimism over easing trade tensions after the U.S. and China agreed to temporarily reduce some tariffs earlier in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.2%.
In commodities, Brent crude dropped 2.4% to US$64.53 per barrel, weighed down by concerns over global demand. Meanwhile, spot gold fell 2% to US$3,239.97 an ounce, hitting a four-week low.
Chinese stocks eased from recent highs. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.7% to 3,380.8, while the CSI 300 fell 0.9% to 3,907.2. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined 0.8% to 23,453.2.
In contrast, India’s BSE Sensex climbed 1.5% to 82,530.7, continuing its recent upward momentum.
European markets were also broadly higher. The UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.6% to 8,633.8, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.7% to 23,695.6, and France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.2% to 7,853.5.
