Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday as a raft of upbeat corporate results helped market sentiment. Investors shrugged off concerns surrounding Brexit and the Sino-US trade war. Japanese shares ended higher as weaker yen boosts exporters, while investors lapped up technology stocks on hopes for improved earnings following Microsoft Corp's higher than expected sales forecasts for its cloud computing services. Further, Seoul shares ended higher as the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, SK Hynix’s third-quarter profit beat expectations fueled hopes of a recovery in the chip making industry, and investors shrugged off preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showing that South Korea's economy expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter amid heightened global uncertainties. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks closed on a flat note as caution crept in ahead of a crucial meeting of the ruling Communist Party next week.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,940.92 | -0.70 | -0.02 |
Hang Seng | 26,797.95 | 231.22 | 0.87 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,339.65 | 81.84 | 1.31 |
KLSE Composite | 1,571.11 | 2.32 | 0.15 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,750.60 | 125.22 | 0.55 |
Straits Times | 3,168.87 | 24.59 | 0.78 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,085.66 | 5.04 | 0.24 |
Taiwan Weighted | 11,320.14 | 80.47 | 0.72 |
