Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday, even though the initial euphoria over Fed's dovish stance faded and investors looked ahead to a new round of high-level US-China trade negotiations beginning in Beijing next week for direction. Brexit developments also remained in spotlight after EU leaders agreed on a plan to delay the Article 50 process. Japanese shares ended tad higher as chipmakers rallied amid the buzz that Apple is preparing to release the AirPower sometime soon. On the economic front, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract at a steady pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.9. That's unchanged from the February reading.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,104.15 | 2.69 | 0.09 |
Hang Seng | 29,113.36 | 41.80 | 0.14 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,525.27 | 23.49 | 0.36 |
KLSE Composite | 1,666.66 | 3.00 | 0.18 |
Nikkei 225 | 21,627.34 | 18.42 | 0.09 |
Straits Times | 3,212.10 | -1.55 | -0.05 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,186.95 | 2.07 | 0.09 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,639.07 | 29.52 | 0.28 |
