China stocks steady, Hong Kong shares rise
China stock was steady on Friday, as gains in real estate shares offset losses in biotech and chipmaking plays.
Hong Kong stocks gained following strength on Wall Street overnight.
The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent, while the large-cap CSI300 Index lost 0.1 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 0.5 percent.
Morgan Stanley said that China’s A-share sentiment has softened as US yields rise.
But the bank continues to “see scope for improving A-share market dynamics as the largest liquidity overhang fades and global AI trades regain momentum,” it said in a note, Worries around the risk of liquidity drains from the market have accompanied recent mammoth IPOs such as chipmaker CXMT’s float.
South Korea stocks to log second weekly fall
South Korean shares fell on Friday and were set to log a second weekly decline as the hype about the artificial intelligence trade following Nvidia Corp.‘s outlook waned while investors stayed cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole event.
The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
The benchmark KOSPI was down 74.15 points, or 1.07 percent, at 6,838.22 as of 02:09 GMT. For the week, the index is down 1 percent.
Nvidia’s second-quarter revenue more than doubled to $96.22 billion, beating estimates of $92.17 billion.
Federal Reserve officials shared on Thursday their ongoing concerns about the US inflation landscape, as central bankers gathered in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the Kansas City Fed’s closely watched annual economic symposium.
Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 2.26 percent, while peer SK Hynix lost 1.45 percent. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.81 percent.
Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 0.25 percent and up 0.63 percent, respectively.
Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 1.62 percent, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 4.74 percent. Of the total 909 traded issues, 382 shares advanced, while 479 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 519.9 billion won ($377.22 million).
The won was quoted at 1,377.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.30 percent higher than its previous close at 1,381.5.
Australian equities gain
Australian shares were higher on Friday, supported by financials and technology stocks as the market shrugged off concerns of a rate hike, which is expected as soon as next month.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3 percent at 9,068.90 points as of 0058 GMT.
The benchmark fell 1 percent on Thursday. Concerns that interest rates could stay higher for longer, fuelled by hotter-than-expected inflation data and growing expectations of a hike as soon as the next central bank meeting, trimmed the index’s earlier gains, leaving it on track for a modest 0.1 percent weekly rise.
Markets are now pricing in more than a 50 percent chance of a September rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia, LSEG data showed, compared with 16 percent before Wednesday’s inflation release.
Rate-sensitive financials were up 0.6 percent, while real estate stocks fell 0.5 percent.
The “big four” banks gained between 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei rises
Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Friday, lifted in large part by tech stocks, although gains were capped by simmering concerns about inflation and uncertainty about what Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh might signal in his speech at Jackson Hole.
The Nikkei rose 0.8 percent to 66,682.88 as of the midday recess.
Chip-related heavyweights Advantest and Tokyo Electron advanced 2.1 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, to be the index’s biggest supports.
Security software firm Trend Micro and Fujitsu rallied 5.5 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, to be the Nikkei’s biggest percentage gainers. Of the index’s 225 components, 139 rose versus 80 that fell, with six trading flat.
The broader Topix added 0.9 percent to 4,152.88.
Indian stocks set to open higher
Indian shares are expected to open higher on Friday after two straight sessions of losses, although caution may persist ahead of a speech by the Federal Reserve chair and after sharp swings during the new closing auction mechanism.
GIFT Nifty futures were at 24,262 points, of 7:56 a.m. IST, indicating a positive start for the Nifty 50, which closed at 24,090.85 on Thursday.
The 50-stock index dropped 1 percent over the last two sessions and is headed for its third straight weekly loss as elevated oil prices and Treasury yields weighed on global risk assets.
Derivatives turnover on India’s BSE index was the lowest in 11 months for a monthly expiry session on Thursday, which saw an erratic closing auction session. The indicative close for the benchmark Sensex dropped over 3 percent briefly during the closing auction, before paring some losses and closing 0.7 percent lower.
The sharp swings in the cash market also triggered abnormal spikes in options premiums of the monthly Sensex contracts that were expiring on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures hovered around $89 per barrel on Friday.
Stocks turn cautious ahead of warsh speech
Shares in Asia turned cautious on Friday after a Nvidia-fuelled technology rally, while currency and bond markets held their breath for the world’s most powerful central banker to speak on US interest rates.
Oil prices were headed for weekly losses as Iran and Oman had agreed on administering traffic in the Strait of Hormuz sharing revenues, though Washington has shown little interest in reviving direct talks with Tehran.
Brent eased 0.1 percent to $89.63 a barrel but was set for a weekly drop of over 5 percent.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.5 percent.