Stock indices of the largest Asia-Pacific countries are mainly gaining on Friday following the U.S. stock market dynamics.
The stock exchanges in Mainland China continue to remain closed on the Spring Festival (the beginning of the new year according to the lunar calendar).
The growth of optimism in Asian markets was also supported by the U.S. statistics published the day before, which showed that the economy remains flexible, despite a significant tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve (FRS).
According to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department, the country’s GDP rose 2.9% year-over-year in the fourth quarter after climbing 3.2% in the previous quarter. The consensus forecast by analysts, cited by Trading Economics, suggested economic growth had weakened to 2.6%.
The Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.05% by 7:09 a.m.
The leaders of the price growth are the securities of the chemical company Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. (+4.2%), industrial robotics manufacturer Yaskawa Electric Corp. (+3.7%) and Chiba Bank Ltd. (+3.6%).
Shares of carmaker Toyota Motor rose 0.4% and consumer electronics maker Sony gained 1%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.01% by 7:16 a.m.
Shares of solar panel maker Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd. (-3.5%), computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. (-3%) and home appliances and electronics maker Haier Smart Home Co. Ltd. (-2.3%).
Shares of retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. fell 1.3% while JD.com Inc. rose 1.8%.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.7% by 7:14 a.m.
The stock price of one of the world’s largest chip and electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. is up 1.1%, the share price of automaker Hyundai Motor is down 0.6%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.3% for the day.
Australia’s producer price index rose 0.7% quarter-over-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with a 1.9% increase in the third quarter. The index was up for the tenth consecutive quarter, but the rate of increase was the slowest since the second quarter of 2021, Trading Economics wrote.
BHP and Rio Tinto, the world’s largest mining companies, rose 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. shares gained 0.04%. The company said it shipped a record volume of iron ore in the fourth quarter while cutting production costs compared with the previous three months.
