(RTTNews) – Despite broadly negative signals from Wall Street overnight, Asian shares were in a sea of green on Friday as traders bought shares at bargain prices after yesterday’s sell-off and eased Chinese sentiment on expectations of signs of improving supply chains in the region COVID-19 restrictions. However, concerns about persistent inflation, economic growth and the ongoing war in Ukraine remain. Asian markets closed sharply lower on Thursday.
Australian shares traded sharply higher on Friday, recouping some of the previous session’s losses, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 breaching the 7,100 level despite broadly negative signals from Wall Street overnight, with mining and tech stocks outperforming equities despite concerns about high inflation and Concerns about tightening monetary policy continued to mount.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 74.20 points or 1.05 per cent to 7,138.70 after hitting a high of 7,154.60 earlier. The broader index of all common shares rose 79.40 points, or 1.09%, to 7,382.70. Australian shares closed sharply lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals both rose more than 2%, while BHP Billiton and Mineral Resources both rose nearly 2%. OZ Minerals rose more than 1 percent.
Oil inventories are low. Woodside Petroleum was down nearly 3%, Beach Energy was down nearly 2%, Origin Energy was down nearly 1% and Santos was down nearly 2%.
Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global and Appen rose nearly 2 per cent, Zip rose more than 3 per cent, Xero rose 3.5 per cent and Afterpay owner Block surged nearly 8 per cent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ and NAB both rose 0.5 per cent, Commonwealth Bank rose nearly 1 per cent and Westpac gained 0.2 per cent.
Gold miners are higher. Northern Star Resources was up more than 3%, Evolution Mining was up nearly 3%, Newcrest Mining was up nearly 2%, Gold Road Resources was up 2.5% and Resolute Mining was up nearly 2%.
In currency markets, the Australian dollar traded at $0.701 on Friday.
Japanese shares rose sharply on Friday after opening modestly higher, recouping some of the previous session’s losses, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 remaining just below the 26,700 level despite broadly negative signals from Wall Street overnight, as traders rallied on Thursday. Indulged in buying the dip after the sell-off, even as concerns about high inflation and tighter monetary policy continued to mount.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed at 26,712.36 in early trade, up 309.52 points or 1.17%, after hitting a high of 26,713.37 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group rose nearly 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing rose nearly 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda was up nearly 1 percent and Toyota was up more than 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest and Tokyo Electron both rose more than 1%, while Screen Holdings rose 0.3%.
In banking, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial fell 0.2 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rose nearly 1 percent. Mizuho Financial was flat.
Among major exporters, Sony was up nearly 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric was up more than 1 percent, Panasonic was up nearly 3 percent, while Canon edged down 0.2 percent.
Among other major gainers, Seiko Epson surged more than 8%, Japanese steel mills surged nearly 6%, Pacific Metals rose more than 5%, while Kawasaki Kisen, NTN and Toho Zinc all rose more than 4%. Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsui Mining & Smelting both rose nearly 4 percent, while Nippon Yusen KK, NSK and Dai Nippon Printing all rose more than 3 percent.
Conversely, Tokyo Gas and NEC fell more than 3% each, while Keyence fell nearly 3%.
In economic news, consumer prices in Japan rose 2.5% in April from a year earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That beat expectations for a 2.4% increase and was up sharply from 1.2% in March. The core CPI, which strips out volatile food prices, rose 2.1% year-on-year, in line with expectations and up from 0.8% in the previous month. On a monthly basis, headline inflation rose 0.4% – unchanged from the March reading.
In currency markets, the dollar traded within a 128 yen range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia rose between 1.0% and 1.9%, respectively, while New Zealand, Taiwan and Malaysia rose between 0.3% and 0.8%.
On Wall Street, stocks were volatile on Thursday following a sell-off in the previous session. Major stock indexes traded wildly during the session before closing in negative territory.
While the Nasdaq fell 29.66 points, or 0.3%, to 11,388.50, the Dow and S&P 500 again closed at their lowest closes in more than a year. The Dow lost 236.94 points, or 0.8%, to 31,253.13 and the S&P 500 lost 22.89 points, or 0.6%, to 3,900.79.
Major European markets also fell on the day. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1.8%, France’s CAC 40 fell 1.3% and Germany’s DAX fell 0.9%.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Thursday on reports that Chinese officials plan to ease restrictions in Shanghai in anticipation of a pickup in energy demand. A weaker dollar also contributed significantly to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery settled up $2.62, or 2.4%, at $112.21 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Nasdaq Corporation.
