Asian equity markets ended in green on Friday as a rebound in technology stocks on strong earnings and a drop in US Treasury yields helped improve investors' risk appetite. Also, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan maintained their policy mix, as widely expected, helping support underlying sentiments. Japanese shares closed near three-month highs after the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy steady, as widely expected, but dropped its target date for achieving its 2 percent inflation target. Investors also digested a raft of economic data. Japan's industrial output rose 1.2% sequentially in March to beat forecasts and the jobless rate held flat at 2.5% in line with expectations, while retail sales and consumer inflation figures fell short of expectations. Further, Chinese shares finished higher as gains in healthcare shares offset losses in consumer stocks, and as market participants continued to watch the developments of China-US trade spat.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,082.23 | 7.20 | 0.23 |
Hang Seng | 30,280.67 | 272.99 | 0.91 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,919.24 | 10.04 | 0.17 |
KLSE Composite | 1,863.47 | 11.20 | 0.60 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,467.87 | 148.26 | 0.66 |
Straits Times | 3,577.21 | 7.19 | 0.20 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,492.40 | 16.76 | 0.68 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,553.43 | 64.85 | 0.62 |
