Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday after the White House confirmed that United States President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will hold talks next week, boosting investor optimism over potential progress on trade and regional cooperation.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will depart for Malaysia late Friday before travelling to Japan and South Korea, meeting Xi next Thursday following his address at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit.
By 11:40 am AEDT (12:40 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1%, Japan's Nikkei 225 added 1.2%, and South Korea's Kospi 200 lifted 1.6% to trade at a fresh record high.
Among key data releases, Japan’s core inflation rate accelerated to 2.9% in September, marking the first rise since May and matching market expectations.
Headline inflation also climbed to 2.9%, surpassing the Bank of Japan’s 2% target, while the “core-core” inflation measure, which strips out both fresh food and energy, eased to 3% from 3.3% in August.
Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures from Japan and Australia also offered mixed signals.
Japan’s manufacturing PMI fell to 48.3, below forecasts of 48.6 and lower than the previous month’s 48.5, while services eased to 52.4 from 53.3.
“Japanese private sector output continued to expand in October, with increased activity across the service sector offsetting a further decline in manufacturing production.
"However, the overall rate of growth slowed for the second month running and was the softest recorded since May,” the report said.
In Australia, manufacturing activity slipped into contraction territory at 49.7, down from 51.4, but services activity expanded to 53.1 from 52.4 last month.
“Australia’s business activity growth accelerated at the start of the final quarter of the year
"Higher new business underpinned the expansion in business activity, which led to further job creation. That said, trends diverged by sector across measures of output, new business and employment as growth in services contrasted with declines in manufacturing,” the report noted.
On Wall Street, U.S. equities advanced overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 rising 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.9%.
In commodities, Brent crude surged 5.3% to settle at US$65.96 per barrel, extending gains amid geopolitical tensions, while spot gold rose 0.7% to US$4,126.08 per ounce, rebounding after a sharp selloff from record highs.
Across China and Hong Kong, markets traded firmer on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.2% at 3,922.4, the CSI 300 higher by 0.3% at 4,606.3, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advancing 0.7% to 25,968.0.
India’s BSE Sensex also edged 0.2% higher to 84,556.4.
European equities finished broadly higher, with the FTSE 100 rising 0.7% to a record 9,578.6, Germany’s DAX adding 0.2% to 24,207.8, and France’s CAC 40 up 0.2% at 8,225.8.
