Asian markets settled mostly higher on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight with semiconductor and artificial intelligence shares leading the surge ahead of the highly anticipated US stock market debut of South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix. Market sentiments rose further as Brent crude prices eased, the American currency weakened and US Treasury bond yields declined following signs that the United States and Iran will continue peace negotiations despite recent clashes. Japanese shares surged as the yen strengthened against its major peers following reports that Japan plans to encourage pension funds to enhance their holdings in local financial assets. Meanwhile, investors shifted their focus on the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, while a massive slate of Chinese data is scheduled for release next week.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,996.16 | -40.43 | -1.00 |
| Hang Seng | 24,175.12 | 144.94 | 0.60 |
| Jakarta Composite | 5,924.36 | 11.92 | 0.20 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,691.49 | 13.85 | 0.83 |
| Nikkei 225 | 68,557.73 | 813.88 | 1.20 |
| Straits Times | 5,469.29 | 35.41 | 0.65 |
| KOSPI Composite | 7,475.94 | 184.03 | 2.52 |
| Taiwan Weighted | -- | -- | -- |
