Almost all the Asian equity benchmarks barring Taiwan Weighted, ended higher on Friday, as expectations of more stimulus from central banks in Japan and China helped cushion the disappointment over the lack of clarity from European Central Bank Mario Draghi on deploying additional monetary stimulus to mitigate deflation risks. Chinese shares ended an extremely volatile session sharply higher, led by gains in financials. Japanese stocks too strengthened, as a weaker yen boosted exporter shares. The dollar rose above the 120-yen mark for the first time in seven-and-a-half years amid fresh signs of resilience in the world's largest economy.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,937.65 | 38.19 | 1.32 |
Hang Seng | 24,002.64 | 170.08 | 0.71 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,187.99 | 10.83 | 0.21 |
KLSE Composite | 1,749.37 | 3.68 | 0.21 |
Nikkei 225 | 17,920.45 | 33.24 | 0.19 |
Straits Times | 3,324.39 | 19.57 | 0.59 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,986.62 | 0.01 | 0.00 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,206.57 | -18.54 | -0.20 |