Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Friday after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney signaled a stronger possibility of a summer rate cut to support the UK economy in the wake of the country’s vote last week to exit the European Union. China’s stocks advanced, heading for their biggest weekly gain in a month, after official manufacturing data matched forecasts and a gauge of services activity perked up. The June non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 53.7 from 53.1 in the previous month, while the manufacturing PMI was at 50, the dividing line between improvement and deterioration. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average rose for a fifth day, as bargain hunting continued and risk appetite remained solid after US and European shares gained. Among the other Asian markets, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher. Bucking the trend, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore are edging lower. Markets in Hong Kong are closed to commemorate the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day.
Nikkei 225 jumped 124.37 points or 0.80% to 15,700.29, KOSPI Index spurt 20.88 points or 1.06% to 1,991.23, Taiwan Weighted added 76.73 points or 0.89% to 8,743.31 and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.60 points or 0.19% to 2,935.20.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 4.92 points or 0.30% to 1,649.16, Straits Times dropped 1.24 points or 0.04% to 2,839.69, and Jakarta Composite was down by 28.31 points or 0.56% to 4,988.33.