Asian markets settled mostly higher on Friday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight following encouraging tech earnings, while stronger than expected US retail sales and jobless claims suggested modest improvement in the US economic activity. Market sentiments improved further after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said policymakers should cut interest rates this month to counter rising growth and job market risks. Chinese shares gained amid expectations the government may roll out more stimulus to boost domestic demand and lift corporate profits. However, Japanese shares declined after data showed Japan's core inflation rate fell to 3.3% in June, down from a 29-month high of 3.5% in May.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,534.48 | 17.65 | 0.50 |
| Hang Seng | 24,825.66 | 326.71 | 1.32 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,311.92 | 24.90 | 0.34 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,525.86 | 4.92 | 0.32 |
| Nikkei 225 | 39,819.11 | -82.08 | -0.21 |
| Straits Times | 4,189.50 | 28.07 | 0.67 |
| KOSPI Composite | 3,188.07 | -4.22 | -0.13 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 23,383.13 | 269.85 | 1.15 |
