Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday after a pullback on Wall Street, where a sharp decline in Nvidia weighed on technology shares despite the chipmaker delivering a quarterly earnings beat.
By 12 pm AEDT (1 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.1% higher, extending the previous session’s record closing high.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%, while South Korea’s KOSPI 200 was down 1.9%.
Among economic releases, Japan’s Tokyo inflation gauge slowed to its weakest pace in more than a year, as utility subsidies introduced by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi helped curb household energy costs.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.8% year-on-year in February in the capital, marking the smallest increase since October 2024. The reading was slightly above the median economist forecast of 1.7%.
The Tokyo consumer price index is widely viewed as a leading indicator for nationwide inflation trends. The moderation was expected, with price growth slowing for a third consecutive month as government measures to reduce utility bills filtered through to the data.
However, a separate measure that excludes both fresh food and energy — closely watched as a gauge of underlying inflation — rose 2.5%, remaining above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.
The mixed signals pose a communication challenge for policymakers as the central bank considers the pace of further interest rate increases.
Japan’s industrial production returned to growth in January, rising 2.2% month-on-month after a 0.1% decline in December. The result fell short of expectations for a 5.3% increase.
Economists attributed the rebound largely to front-loaded demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday period.
Japan's retail sales also surprised to the upside, climbing 1.8% year-on-year in January 2026. That marked a sharp turnaround from the prior month’s 0.9% decline and exceeded market forecasts for a 0.4% fall.
The gain was the strongest since June, supported by fiscal stimulus measures from Tokyo, including targeted consumption vouchers and tax incentives aimed at boosting household spending.
Overnight in the United States, major benchmarks were mostly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended broadly flat, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2%.
In commodities trade, Brent crude settled 0.2% higher at US$70.84 a barrel. Spot gold rose 0.4% to US$5,185.17 an ounce.
In mainland China, the SSE Composite Index was little changed at 4,146.6, while the CSI 300 eased 0.2% to 4,726.9.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.4% to 26,381.0, while India’s BSE Sensex finished largely flat at 82,248.6.
European markets extended fresh record highs on Thursday. The FTSE 100 added 0.4% to close at a record 10,846.7, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.5% to 25,289.0. France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.7% to finish at a record 8,620.9.
