Asian shares on Friday were mostly higher after Wall Street benchmarks fell on worries that the US Federal Reserve would keep raising interest rates.
Markets rose in Taiwan, Australia, China, Japan and South Korea China in muted trading.
Hot readings on the US jobs market on Thursday got traders thinking the Fed would need to keep inflicting pain on the economy to fight surging prices.
Photo: AFP
Inflation has been easing from a peak of 9.1 percent in June to 7.1 percent in November, and investors have been hoping for signs that could prompt the Fed to ease up on applying the brakes to the economy with high interest rates.
“Overall risk sentiments could lean more toward a wait-and-see in the lead-up to the US job report later, lacking a clear conviction in market direction from Wall Street over the past few days,” IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong (葉俊榮) said in a report.
In Taipei, the TAIEX on Friday rose 72.29 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 14,373.34. Turnover was NT$153.86 billion (US$5.01 billion). It was up 1.67 percent for the week.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.59 percent to finish at 25,973.85, but fell 0.46 percent for the week.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.65 percent to 7,109.6, gaining 1.01 percent, while South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.12 percent to 2,289.78, up 2.4 percent weekly.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index erased earlier gains, falling 0.29 percent to 20,991.64, but gained 6.12 percent for the week. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.08 percent to 3,157.64, rising 2.21 percent for the week.
Analysts said they expect economic growth in Asia to slow this year, although China’s emergence from almost three years of strict COVID-19 lockdowns and other containment measures contributed to a sense of optimism in Asia.
There is hope that the easing of restrictions would lead to a boom in countries’ tourism industries, and Hong Kong would be a major beneficiary, with the border opening at the weekend.
Suktae Oh, an analyst at Societe Generale, said he expects the Bank of Korea to raise rates by 25 percentage points to 3.5 percent at its policy meeting this week.
“The data continue to indicate weak economic activity and peaking inflation. The concerns surrounding financial stability have persisted due to high corporate leverage and housing market weakness, which would be bearish for growth outlook,” he said.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA and AFP
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