Chinese, Hong Kong Shares Rise as Japanese Stocks Fall

By Investors Hub

Asian shares turned in a mixed performance on Friday as investors awaited President Donald Trump’s comments to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, along with preliminary data on U.S. fourth-quarter GDP.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 10.78 points or 0.3 percent to 3,559.09, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 499.67 points or 1.5 percent to 33,154.12 after Morgan Stanley boosted its stock targets on a number of Chinese lenders.

Chinese industrial profits continued to increase in December, although at a weaker pace than in the previous month, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Industrial profits grew 10.8 percent year-over-year in December, slower than the 14.9 percent spike in November.

Meanwhile, Japanese shares ended a choppy session lower, dragged down by oil firms and financials. The Nikkei 225 Index dipped 37.61 points or 0.2 percent to 23,631.88 after fluctuating earlier in the day as investors digested consumer inflation data and the Bank of Japan’s December monetary policy meeting minutes. The broader Topix index closed 0.3 percent lower at 1,879.39.

Nationwide consumer prices in Japan climbed 1.0 percent year-on-year in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That was unchanged from the November reading.

Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s December meeting revealed that the monetary policy board is seeking to make policy adjustments as appropriate, taking account of developments in economic activity and prices as well as financial conditions, with a view to maintaining the momentum toward achieving the price stability target.

Inpex Corp and Japan Petroleum Exploration fell around 2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declined 1.5 percent and Dai-ichi Life Holdings shed 1.6 percent.

On the other hand, Fujitsu shares advanced 1.2 percent after the company said it was in talks about selling its mobile phone unit to investment fund Polaris Capital Group.

Markets in Australia and India were closed for Australia Day and Republic Day holidays, respectively.