FRANCE: Shares in Asia were uneven on Friday as the big markets in Japan and Hong Kong got a lift from the rebound on Wall Street, but weak data dragged Chinese shares lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index gained 0.5 percent to 19,669.91 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3 percent to 27,378.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 percent to 5,722.70. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6 percent to 2,107.20 after the Bank of Korea kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.4 percent to 4,315.22 and markets in Southeast Asia were mixed.
U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak. Encouraging employment and inflation data pushed the S&P 500 to a record high and the Dow came within 36 points of its own record. The Dow rose 191.75 points, or 1.1 percent, to 18,252.24. The S&P 500 index gained 22.62 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,121.10.
“Maybe it is a stretch to suggest that markets paused to ponder, but there were shades of a reality check as US dollar and bond market bears took a step back,” Mizuho Bank Ltd. said in a commentary. “Arguably, overdone fears of the U.S. recovery being derailed were assuaged by the reality check of resilient jobless claims numbers at a 15-year low!”
