Blog

Stocks in Asia-Pacific wee mostly higher on Friday as investors watched regional technology stock movements following a decline in the sector stateside.

Mainland Chinese stocks were higher by their close, with the Shanghai composite up 0.79% to around 3,260.35 while the Shenzhen component rose 1.57% to about 12,942.95. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.78% to end its trading day at 24,503.31.

Elsewhere, Japanese stocks saw gains on the day, as the Nikkei 225 rose 0.74% to 23,406.49 while the Topix index advanced 0.72% to 1,636.64. South Korea’s Kospi finished its trading day little changed at 2,396.69.

Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.83% to close at 5,859.40. Shares of major miner Rio Tinto dipped 0.59% after the firm announced its chief executive will be stepping down “by mutual agreement.” That came following a board-led review over the legal destruction of historically significant Aboriginal rockshelters, according to Reuters. Other major miners saw larger downward moves, with Fortescue Metals Group down about 3.07% while BHP fell 1.16%.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index added 0.34%.

Technology shares regionally were mixed on Friday, after their counterparts on Wall Street slipped overnight amid a recent downward trend.

In Japan, shares of conglomerate Softbank Group were up 1.03% while Sharp dropped 1.57%. Over in South Korea, industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw its stock slip 0.34%. SK Hynix, on the other hand, advanced 2.35%.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent rose 1.98% while Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation jumped 6.8%.

Overnight stateside, the major stock averages stateside saw losses on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.89, or 1.45%, to 27,534.58. The S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 3,339.19 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% to 10,919.59.

(Source:International Business, World News & Global Stock Market Analysis)