China stocks mixed
Chinese stock were mixed on Friday and looked set to end the week roughly flat, as heightened regulatory efforts to curb speculative trading tempered risk appetite. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.4 percent by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng was up 0.3 percent. The CSI300 Index and the Hang Seng Index have both fallen 0.5 percent so far this week. Over the past week, Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges each took regulatory measures against hundreds of abnormal trading practices such price pumping and false orders. The bourses also launched probes into several listed companies over allegedly misleading statements. The measures reflect regulators’ intention to slow the pace of market gains. Last week, China tightened margin financing requirements after the Shanghai market hit decade-highs in record turnover.
European shares set for weekly loss
European shares fell on Friday and were on course to snap their longest run of weekly gains since May, as investors weighed the potential fallout from the latest flare-up in trade tensions linked to Greenland.
The pan-European STOXX 600 edged 0.2 percent lower by 0803 GMT, poised to snap a five-week winning streak.
The benchmark index has lost 1 percent so far this week. Markets were jolted this week by US President Donald Trump’s threats to implement tariffs on eight European countries until Washington is allowed to buy Greenland.
While Trump has since dropped the threat, citing a Greenland deal with NATO, investors remain wary of tariffs being used as a bargaining chip.
Elsewhere, purchasing managers’ index figures are due in both Europe and the US, with investors watching the surveys for fresh clues on economic momentum.
South Korean stocks notch record end as financials jump
South Korean shares closed at a record high on Friday, as financial firms rallied on optimism around the domestic market after the benchmark hit a key 5,000 mark.
The benchmark KOSPI ended 37.54 points, or 0.76 percent, higher at 4,990.07, its highest close on record. During the session, it rose as much as 1.4 percent to an all-time high of 5,021.13. The index topped the 5,000 mark for the first time on Thursday, reaching a level promised by President Lee Jae Myung just seven months after he took office. The KOSPI climbed 3.1 percent this week, extending its gaining streak to a fifth straight week, after rising 5.5 percent last week. The biggest gaining sectors were financial groups and securities firms, up 2.75 percent and 9.28 percent, respectively, as the recent equities boom raised investor expectations for higher earnings.
Indian stocks open marginally higher
Indian shares opened marginally higher on Friday, tracking Asian peers as geopolitical jitters over Greenland eased, though persistent foreign outflows and mixed earnings kept sentiment cautious.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.22 percent to 25,344.6, while the BSE Sensex added 0.03 percent to 82,335.94 as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
All the 16 major sectors logged gains.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
The benchmarks gained about 0.5 percent each on Thursday, snapping a three-session losing streak, after US President Donald Trump walked back on threats to impose tariffs on European countries and ruled out the use of force to seize Greenland.
They are still down nearly 1.5 percent so far this week, as tepid earnings from heavyweight firms, such as Reliance Industries , ICICI Bank, and sustained foreign selling weigh.
Australian stocks flat
Australian shares were largely unchanged on Friday, with interest rate-sensitive sectors offsetting gains in gold miners as investors ramped up bets for rate hikes.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was flat at 8,848.10, as of 2343 GMT, after rising 0.8 percent on Thursday.
The gauge has declined about 0.5 percent so far this week and is set for its biggest fall in six weeks if current losses hold. Data showed on Thursday that the Australian unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in December to a seven-month low.
This, combined with sticky inflation and increasingly hawkish signals from the central bank, has spurred fresh bets for rate hikes.
Swaps now indicate a 55.7 percent chance of a hike in cash rate on February 3, compared with 26.5 percent before the data, along with an over 80 percent chance in May.
Asia shares edge up
Stocks made tepid gains in early Asian trading on Friday ahead of the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting, at which it is widely expected to keep rates on hold.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.4 percent, while the Nikkei 225 edged 0.2 percent higher. S&P 500 e-mini futures fluctuated between gains and losses, last trading up 0.1 percent.
Stocks on Wall Street on Thursday extended their rebound for a second day after US President Donald Trump walked back earlier threats of tariffs on European goods and ruled out taking control of Greenland by force. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 0.9 percent.
Malaysian shares edge higher
Malaysian equities inched higher, while the ringgit was steady on Thursday after the country’s central bank kept its interest rate unchanged, expecting robust growth this year.
Elsewhere, currencies appreciated on the day, with the Indonesian rupiah extending gains after the Indonesian central bank held rates and stressed rupiah stabilisation efforts on Wednesday, pulling the currency from record low levels.
The ringgit was at 4.0420 per US dollar, while Kuala Lumpur stocks advanced 0.6 percent to within a few points of a seven-year peak. The currency, among Asia’s strongest, appreciated nearly 0.5 percent so far this month after a 9 percent gain in 2025.
Strong economic growth and record-high trade performance last year highlighted Malaysia’s strong economic fundamentals, while reducing pressure on the central bank to ease rates any further.