Asian stocks displayed mixed performance on Friday after Wall Street declined, unsettled by uncertainties stemming from US President Donald Trump.
U.S. futures remained largely unchanged, while oil prices edged higher.
Chinese markets fell for the second consecutive day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged 2% to 23,733.02 after China maintained its key lending rates. Investors have been selling off technology stocks following recent gains.
The Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.9% to 3,376.96.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 37,933.13 as markets resumed trading after a holiday on Thursday. Japan’s core inflation rate dropped less than anticipated, partly driven by rising rice prices due to supply shortages.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.1% to 2,643.59, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.4% to 7,947.30.
Bangkok’s SET increased 0.5%, whereas Taiwan’s Taiex declined 0.4%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 5,662.89, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by less than 0.1% to 41,953.32. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3% to 17,691.63.
Wall Street has been experiencing volatility for weeks, with stock prices fluctuating due to uncertainty over the economic consequences of Trump’s trade war. Markets received a boost on Wednesday when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the economy remains strong enough to justify keeping interest rates unchanged.
Additional data released Thursday reinforced this outlook. One report indicated that slightly fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than analysts had anticipated.
Another report revealed stronger-than-expected sales of previously owned homes last month, while a third suggested that manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region exceeded economists’ forecasts.
Powell emphasised on Wednesday that exceptionally high uncertainty makes economic forecasting challenging—not only due to the trade war but also because of potential repercussions from efforts to shrink the U.S. federal government.
The recent decline in the broader U.S. stock market, which brought it more than 10% below its all-time high within weeks, may have been inevitable after stock prices surged at a pace that outstripped corporate profit growth, making valuations appear overly expensive.
On Wall Street, Darden Restaurants rose 5.8% after reporting quarterly profits in line with analysts’ projections, despite what the company—owner of Olive Garden, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and other chains—described as a “challenging environment.”
Accenture suffered one of the market’s steepest losses on Thursday, even though the consulting and professional services firm posted slightly better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue. Concerns arose over potential revenue impacts from U.S. government budget cuts, with Elon Musk leading efforts to curb federal spending. The federal government accounted for 17% of Accenture’s North American revenue last fiscal year, causing its stock to drop 7.3%.
Meanwhile, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1% on Thursday after the Bank of England left its main interest rate unchanged.
In early trading on Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose by 31 cents to $68.38 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 27 cents to $72.27 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar strengthened to 149.40 Japanese yen from 148.78 yen late Thursday, while the euro dipped to $1.0831 from $1.0854.