Asian-Pacific benchmark indices opened mixed on Friday after gains on Wall Street overnight as investors parsed earnings from major technology firms.
By 11:40 am AEDT (12:40 am GMT) the ASX 200 rose 0.7%, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.2%, while the Kospi 200 dipped 0.9%.
Economic data from Japan showed that the Tokyo core consumer price index increased by 2.5% year over year in January, slightly above the previous month’s 2.4% and in line with market expectations.
Japan’s unemployment rate for December declined to 2.4% from 2.5% but fell short of estimates. Retail sales for December climbed 3.7% year over year, exceeding the forecasted 3.2%, while industrial output increased by 0.3% month over month, rebounding from a 2.2% decline in November.
In Australia, the producer price index for the fourth quarter rose 0.8%, slightly below the anticipated 1%.
Markets in Hong Kong and China remained closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations.
In the U.S., Wall Street ended the session with modest gains as investors assessed earnings reports from major tech companies. Tesla, Meta, and IBM rose following strong quarterly results, while Microsoft declined 6.2% after its cloud-computing growth fell short of expectations.
Among the top performers in the S&P 500, Vistra Corp surged 13.6%, IBM gained 13%, and Las Vegas Sands climbed 11.1%.
On the downside, United Parcel Service dropped 14.1%, ServiceNow declined 11.5%, and Comcast lost 11.1%.
The U.S. economy grew by 2.5% in 2024, supported by strong consumer spending, though overall economic expansion showed signs of slowing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 168 points, or 0.4%, closing at 44,882. The S&P 500 added 0.5% to finish at 6,071, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to end at 19,681.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil increased 0.5% to trade at US$76.99 per barrel, while gold rose 1.4% to $2,798.39 per ounce.
In India, the BSE SENSEX rose 0.3% to 76,759.8.
European equities also ended higher, with the FTSE 100 gaining 1% to close at 8,646.9. Germany’s DAX climbed 0.4% to 21,727.2, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.9% to finish at 7,941.6.
