Asian markets end mostly in the red on Friday

Stock markets in the Asian region, after a jubilant start following US markets, ended the last trading day of the week in the negative territory. Initially, Asian markets traded jubilantly following firm US markets close, as pending home sales increased more than forecast and technology companies rallied on better-than-estimated earnings. But, the sentiments got hammered in the later half following weak cues from European counters. Moreover, Spain’s long-term credit rating has been downgraded from A to BBB+ by Standard and Poor’s, over fears the country’s budget problems are likely to get worse because of the weak economy too dampened the sentiments.

Meanwhile, Japanese Nikkei share average ended lower in choppy trade and closed out its worst April since 2005 on Friday, after the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) move to boost its bond buying failed to ignite lasting confidence among investors over the fragile economy. The Chinese market too ended in the red after Bank of China, the country’s third-biggest lender by assets, reported that profit growth decelerated to 10 percent in the first quarter due to slowing economy that curtailed loan expansion and margins.