Most Asian stock markets fell on Friday, led by declines in technology shares, after a weak finish on Wall Street overnight dented risk appetite, while investors weighed Tokyo inflation data that kept expectations for further Bank of Japan policy tightening in focus.
Several regional markets, which have posted strong gains so far in January, pulled back from record or multi-year highs amid profit-taking, with Chinese shares leading declines.
In the U.S., Wall Street closed lower overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq under pressure as Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares plunged roughly 10% amid investor concern that heavy AI spending may not deliver commensurate returns, while its cloud growth lagged expectations.
U.S. stock index futures also declined modestly during Asian hours.
China, HK shares lead losses; KOPI gains
Back in Asia, Chinese shares led losses. The blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite slipped over 1% each.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped nearly 2%, with the Hang Seng TECH sub-index declining similarly. Hong Kong shares were set to jump over 7% for January.
Singapore's Straits Times Index edged down 0.2% after hitting a record high earlier in the session. The index was set for a 6% monthly rise.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.6%, but was on track to gain 2% this month.
Futures for India's Nifty 50 index inched 0.3% lower.
In contrast, South Korean shares rose, bucking the broader regional trend. The KOSPI gained 0.5% on strong performances in heavyweight chipmakers, with SK Hynix (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) extending gains after stellar earnings results reported a day earlier.
The KOSPI index was set for stellar gains of nearly 25% for January.
Tokyo inflation cools, core measure still above BOJ target
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.4%, while the broader TOPIX index fell 0.3%.
The Nikkei was set to rise over 5% in January, with some gains tempered by a stronger yen.
Tokyo’s consumer price data on Friday showed inflation in the Japanese capital easing to its lowest level in about four years, highlighting cooling price pressures while keeping the Bank of Japan’s policy outlook in focus.
The core measure, which excludes fresh food and is closely watched by the BOJ, also eased from the previous month but remained slightly above the central bank’s 2% target, indicating that underlying inflation has not fully faded.
The data still kept expectations of near-term BOJ tightening alive.
Source: Investing