China stocks gained Friday ahead of a key policy meeting reportedly set for next week, while other Asia markets tracked Wall Street declines overnight.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.5% in its final hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 gained 1.31% to close at 3,973.14.
China’s top leaders are reportedly kicking off an annual economic planning meeting next week, where the authorities will discuss economic targets and additional stimulus plans for 2025.
Market participants are hoping for announcements of measures to shore up the faltering economy and offset the impact of looming U.S. tariffs.
Other Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday as investors assessed Japan’s household spending data and India’s GDP growth downgrade.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.56% to end at 2,428.16, while the Kosdaq dropped 1.43% to 661.33.
Investors continue to monitor the country’s political situation amid moves to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for his brief declaration of martial law earlier this week. The country’s top opposition party reportedly said Friday that lawmakers were on standby after receiving reports of another potential martial law declaration.
Traders in Asia also assessed household spending data out of Japan. Spending fell 1.3% in October year-over-year, slower than the 2.6% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters. On a monthly basis, spending grew 2.9% in October compared to September, beating expectations of a 0.4%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225
fell 0.9% to end the trading day at 39,091.17, while the Topix lost 0.55% to end at 2,727.22.
India on Friday kept its interest rate steady at 6.5% as it seeks to tame inflation after it surged to a 14-month high in October. The benchmark Nifty 50 index was marginally higher.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.64% to end the day at 8,420.9.
In the U.S. on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 248.33 points, or 0.55%, to close at 44,765.71.
The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.18% to end at 19,700.26, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.19%, settling at 6,075.11.
Investors are looking ahead to key U.S. employment data set for release on Friday. The labor report could inform the Federal Reserve’s rate decision at its policy meeting later this month.
source: cnbc.com
