Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday, following losses on Wall Street as investors continued to assess concerns over the United States economy.
By 11:30 am AEDT (12:30 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% and South Korea’s Kospi 200 slipped 0.4%.
Among data releases, Japan’s February headline inflation rose 3.7% year-on-year, easing from January’s two-year high of 4%.
However, the so-called “core-core” inflation rate, which removes both fresh food and energy prices and is closely watched by the Bank of Japan, increased slightly to 2.6% from 2.5% in the previous month.
Overnight in the U.S., major benchmark averages closed slightly lower, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 11.31 points, or 0.03%, to 41,953.3. The S&P 500 lost 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3% to 17,691.6.
Commodity markets saw Brent crude oil reach a two-week high, rising 1.7% to $72 per barrel. Spot gold prices eased 0.1% from record highs, trading at $3,043.42 per ounce.
Chinese equities were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite falling 0.5% to 3,408.9 and the CSI 300 dropping 0.9% to 3,975.0.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 2.2% to 24,220.0, while India’s BSE Sensex gained 1.2% to 76,348.1.
European markets also fell, as the FTSE 100 edged down 0.1% to 8,702.0, the DAX slipped 1.2% to 22,999.2, and the CAC 40 fell 1% to 8,094.2.
