Asian stock markets have seen a majority rise on Friday, rebounding from a sell-off earlier in the week due to the US Federal Reserve's indication that it is unlikely to cut interest rates in March. The rise was influenced by broadly positive cues from Wall Street and saw markets in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia rise by well over 1 percent.
The Australian stock market, after recovering from losses in the previous session, saw a sharp rise on Friday. This rise was lead primarily by mining and technology stocks, causing the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index to move slightly above the 7,700 mark. Major miners such as Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources saw an upward trend. However, oil stocks remained largely weak.
Tech stocks such as WiseTech Global and Afterpay owner Block advanced substantially. The big four Australian banks also saw gains, with Gold miners like Gold Road Resources and Newmont adding more than 2 percent each.
Pinnacle Investment shares soared more than 9 percent after its affiliates' funds under management topped $100 billion in December. Boss Energy and Paladin Energy shares also surged more than 6 percent concerning a recent uranium price rally, with spot prices near 16-year highs.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that in December, the value of owner-occupied home loans in Australia dropped by a seasonally adjusted 5.6 percent. Overall home loans slipped 4.1 percent. Similarly, producer prices in Australia increased by only 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, falling short of expectations.
Meanwhile, the Japanese stock market peaked significantly higher following positive cues from Wall Street, with the Nikkei 225 index well above the 36,300 level. The upward trend was led by prominent market movers and technology stocks. Notably, SoftBank Group and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing each added over 1 percent. Advantest and Screen Holdings observed substantial gains in the tech sector. Conversely, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial saw losses of nearly 1 percent each.Among the top performers, NEXON's value has skyrocketed by nearly 22%, Konica Minolta has seen a growth of over 11%, and Konami Group's value has surged by nearly 6%. Other companies experiencing growth include Mitsui Mining & Smelting growing by almost 5%, CyberAgent increasing by over 4%, and J. Front Retailing advancing by nearly 4%. Additionally, Toto, Fujitsu, and Nissan Chemical have each seen more than a 3% increase in value. Tokyo Electric Power, Shin-Etsu Chemical and BANDAI NAMCO have each grown by almost 3%.
On the other side, Aozora Bank's value has plummeted by more than 15%, Mitsubishi Motors has dipped by nearly 7%, and Hino Motors has decreased by more than 4%. Meanwhile, T&D Holdings and Dai-ichi Life Holdings have both experienced a near 3% decrease in value.
Economic news reveals that Japan's monetary base increased by 4.8% YoY in January, according to a report by the Bank of Japan. This increase, amounting to 668.019 trillion yen, fell short of the anticipated 7.5% increase and is less than December's 8.2% increase. The adjusted monetary base dropped by 12.1% to 673.007 trillion yen.
In international trading, the US dollar is being traded at the lower 146 yen-range.
In other parts of Asia, South Korea's value has increased by 2.1%, with Hong Kong and Singapore both experiencing a 1.4% growth. New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan have all seen growth between 0.1% and 0.5%. Conversely, China is going against the trend with a 0.2% decrease in value. On Wall Street, stocks have made a strong recovery following Thursday's sell-off. The Dow, Nasdaq, and the S&P 500 all closed near their highest levels of the day, having gained 1.0%, 1.3%, and 1.3% respectively.
However, in Europe, the markets moved in the opposite direction, with France's CAC 40 Index dropping by 0.9%, Germany's DAX Index falling by 0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 Index decreasing by 0.1%.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Thursday, influenced by ceasefire negotiations in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Regardless, potential increases in energy demand limited the decrease. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March sank $2.03 or 2.7% at $73.82 a barrel.
