Most Asian markets rose on Friday as successful Italian and Spanish bond auctions and comments from the European Central Bank helped alleviate concerns about the region's debt crisis. Meanwhile, Japanese Nikkei ended up 1.36 percent as sentiment brightened on eased fears over the European debt crisis and an overnight rise on Wall Street. However, mainland Chinese stocks fell sharply after data showed the country's foreign-exchange reserves fell by $20.6 billion in the fourth quarter to $3.18 trillion amid a shrinking trade surplus and worries about foreign-exchange outflows. Moreover, Taiwan Weighted slipped marginally on caution ahead of presidential elections over the weekend.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,244.58 | -30.43 | -1.34 |
Hang Seng | 19,204.42 | 109.04 | 0.57 |
Jakarta Composite | 3,935.33 | 25.83 | 0.66 |
Nikkei 225 | 8,500.02 | 114.43 | 1.36 |
Straits Times | 2,791.54 | 47.88 | 1.75 |
Seoul Composite | 1,875.68 | 11.11 | 0.60 |
Taiwan Weighted | 7,181.54 | -5.04 | -0.07 |