MW: Asia stocks mostly higher; weak yen boosts Japan
By Daniel Inman
Japanese and Australian shares moved higher on Friday, as the dollar set a five-year high against the yen, capping a mixed week for regional markets.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s forthcoming policy meeting, scheduled to finish next Wednesday, remained the main event on the horizon. After the U.S. posted a strong November labor report last week, expectations have increased for an imminent reduction of the central bank’s stimulus measures, which some think could start as early as next week.
As a result, the dollar strengthened 0.9% overnight against the yen USDJPY -0.12% and continued to push higher in Asian trading. The greenback went as high at ¥103.91, a fresh-five year.
The weakness in the yen helped Japanese stocks rise, with the Nikkei Average JP:NIK +0.40% ending 0.4% higher to 15403.11. That put the index up 0.7% for the week, making it the best performer in the region.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO +0.71% gained 0.7% on Friday to 5098.40, while South Korea’s Kospi KR:SEU -0.26% extended its losses, trading down .3% to 1962.91.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI +0.12% crept up 0.1% to 23245.96, and the Shanghai Composite CN:SHCOMP -0.31% fell 0.3% to 2196.07.
Shares in China Cinda Asset Management Co. HK:1359 +4.44% rose 4.4% on its second trading day after completing the largest initial public offering in Hong Kong in 2013. The company, which buys bad debt from banks and companies, raised $2.5 billion, and jumped 26% on its debut on Thursday.
Down 1.7% for the week, Australia was one of the worst performing markets over the week, as a number of negative factors combined to weigh on the market, such as a flood of IPOs hitting the market before Christmas, a surprise profit warning from insurer QBE Insurance Group AU:QBE +1.92% QBEIF -7.00% that damaged broader sentiment earlier in the week as well Thursday data that showed an increase in the unemployment rate.
Other markets to perform badly over the week included the Hang Seng Index, which fell 2.1%, hurt by falls in some of the large Chinese banks on further signs that Beijing will liberalize interest rates. The Kospi fell 0.9% in Seoul over the same period.
