Asia report: markets positive as Japan nets retail and manufacturing boost
Asian markets largely enjoyed a positive day of trading on Friday as the Japanese Nikkei 225 saw its highest intraday levels since November 1991.
The Nikkei 225 jumped 1.36% to 24,120.04 as the yen rose 0.02% against the dollar as newly released data showed increases in month-on-month industrial output and retail spending in August, while national unemployment fell by 0.1% to 2.4% from the previous month.
The Japanese government said it expected factory output to continue to rise in the coming months, with the positive corporate sector performances predicted to trickle down to the labour market and boost consumption.
Across the sea in China, the Shanghai Composite rose by 1.06% to 2,821.35 and the tech indicating Shenzhen Composite jumped by 0.83% to 1,441.54, with the county’s stocks slightly muted ahead of week-long National Day holidays next week.
The Chinese yuan softened against the US dollar after the Asian nation’s central bank opted not to alter interest rates on Thursday following the US federal reserve’s decision to hike rates for the third time this year.
Lukman Otunuga, Research Analyst at FXTM, said: “With the widening gap in interest rates between the United States and China potentially encouraging interest rate differentials to support the United States, this could pressure the yuan over the near-term.”
South Korea’s Kospi fell by 0.52% to 2,343.07 in trading on Friday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.26% to reach 27,788.52.
The South Korean index continued to feel the effects of tech giant Samsung’s ongoing legal troubles, which yesterday saw chief executive Lee Sang-hoon and a group of other executives indicted for allegedly sabotaging the creation of a worker’s union.
Prosecution official Kim Soo-hyun said: "This is meaningful in that Samsung's long-disputed policy of not tolerating labor unions has mostly turned out to be true."
Following the news, Samsung Electronics’ shares were down 2.21% at the close of trading.
Oil prices were relatively steady, as Brent Crude was up 0.41% at $82.06, while West Texas Intermediate jumped by 0.55% to $72.16.
Down under, the S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.43% to 6,207.56 even as Australia’s banks were slammed by regulators for a culture and poor behaviour in the finance industry.
A damning interim report from banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne said that selling had become the sole aim of the country’s banks, leaving them to pursue “their share of the customer’s wallet”.
Despite receiving such stern criticism, shares of Australian banks mostly ended the day higher, with NAB up by 1.76% while Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose by 1.9%.
The exception was Macquarie Group, which slipped by 1.34% in Friday trading.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was up by 0.70% at 9,351.06 as it followed the positive trend across the region.
The Australian dollar was down 0.10% against the US dollar at AUD 1.3861, while the Kiwi currency was unchanged at NZD 1.5119.