Asian equity markets ended higher on Friday, taking their cues from overnight gains on Wall Street, higher oil prices and a weaker yen, after both official groups in the EU referendum campaign suspended campaigning activities until further notice out of respect for Labor MP Jo Cox, who was shot dead in the street in northern England. Japanese shares recovered some of the hefty losses recorded in the previous session, as the yen steadied against the dollar after surging to a 22-month high on Thursday in the wake of the Bank of Japan's decision to leave its asset-buying plan unchanged. Chinese shares eked out modest gains even as concerns lingered about slowing growth and the weak yuan, which hit a five-year low earlier this week on concerns that capital outflows may accelerate.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,885.10 | 12.29 | 0.43 |
Hang Seng | 20,169.98 | 131.56 | 0.66 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,835.14 | 20.75 | 0.43 |
KLSE Composite | 1,624.18 | 9.28 | 0.57 |
Nikkei 225 | 15,599.66 | 165.52 | 1.07 |
Straits Times | 2,763.42 | 11.86 | 0.43 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,953.40 | 1.41 | 0.07 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8,568.08 | 73.94 | 0.87 |