Asia Markets
Steady Oil Prices, Rising Tech Shares Lift Asian Stock Markets
Asian stock markets largely gained on Friday as crude oil prices steadied and as traders followed overnight Wall Street cues, particularly tech-sector gains.Brent crude prices eased slightly to $76.16 a barrel, off 0.2%, during Asian trading hours.Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the green, although Shanghai slipped. Other regional exchanges were mixed on the high side.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and held ground, finishing up 0.7% on a tech-sector-led rally.The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 813.88 to 68,557.73, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 130 to 93, as upswings were largely confined to AI and semiconductor-related issues.Leading the upside was silicon wafer maker Sumco, up 15.4%, while beverage house Sapporo declined 3.7%.Tech-financier SoftBank gained 10.7% on the day.In economic news, Japan's producer price index (PPI) rose 7.1% on the year in June, and by 0.4% from May, due in part to energy bills, reported the Bank of Japan.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and gained in trading, closing up 0.6% as traders looked for values in depressed property issues.The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 144.94 to 24,175.12, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 74 to 16. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.2% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.5%.Leading the upside was conglomerate CK Hutchinson, gaining 7.5%, while Contemporary Amperex Technology declined 7.9%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1% to 3,996.16.On the other regional exchanges, the South Korean KOSPI rose 2.5%; the Taiwan TWSE was closed; the Australian ASX 200 gained 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.6%, and the Thai Set advanced 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1.1%.The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8% on the day.
Hang SengNikkei 225Shanghai Composite