Asian stock markets ended mixed on Friday, with Nikkei rallying due to continued weakness in the yen, followed by comments from Japanese Vice Finance Minister that the country is closely monitoring developments in the currency market. However, South Korea's Kospi extended its losing streak and closed lower weighted down by automakers. The mainland Chinese shares went home with red mark as investors booked profit in the banking sector. Moreover, Seoul, which fell on weak economic growth figures in the earlier session, took another hit on Friday after index giant Samsung Electronics posted below-forecast results for the October-December fourth quarter.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,291.30 | -11.29 | -0.49 |
Hang Seng | 23,580.43 | -18.47 | -0.08 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,437.60 | 18.87 | 0.43 |
KLSE Composite | 1,637.13 | 1.88 | 0.11 |
Nikkei 225 | 10,926.65 | 305.78 | 2.88 |
Straits Times | 3,269.31 | 20.92 | 0.64 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,946.69 | -17.79 | -0.91 |
Taiwan Weighted | 7,672.58 | -23.41 | -0.30 |
