Asian equity markets ended mostly higher on Friday, although overall gains remained muted amid expectations of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in December. Caution ahead of upcoming holidays in China and South Korea next week also served to keep a lid on potential gains. The dollar rally paused and gold held near six-week lows on improved risk appetite following the tax reform speech from US President Donald Trump, while oil prices rose after declining around 1 percent overnight. Chinese shares ended higher on hopes that next month's twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress will likely make state-owned enterprise reform a priority. Meanwhile, Japanese shares ended on a flat note even as a slew of data offered a mostly positive picture of the economy. Industrial output bounced back in August after falling in July, core inflation accelerated amid continued tightness in the labor market and household spending rose while growth in the retail sector slowed in the month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,348.94 | 9.30 | 0.28 |
Hang Seng | 27,554.30 | 132.70 | 0.48 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,900.85 | 59.81 | 1.02 |
KLSE Composite | 1,755.58 | -2.48 | -0.14 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,356.28 | -6.83 | -0.03 |
Straits Times | 3,219.91 | -7.23 | -0.22 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,394.47 | 21.33 | 0.90 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,329.94 | 33.49 | 0.33 |