People walking through the neon lit night streets of Sinchon in the heart of Seoul, South Korea’s vibrant capital city.
Fotovoyager | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight as President Donald Trump signed a reciprocal tariffs plans, but did not enact the levies on them immediately.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was trading down 0.6%, while the broader Topix index fell 0.18%.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi was up 0.32% while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.44%.
The country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 2.9% in January, easing from its three-year high of 3.7% in the month before.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 Index rose .24%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index continued its gain from the previous session to open 1.8% higher.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.39%, after hitting an intra-day record in the previous session.
Meanwhile, India’s wholesale price inflation, capturing price changes by wholesalers, is expected to rise 2.5% in January, more than 2.3% growth in the previous month.
Singapore’s economy expanded by 4.4% in 2024, its fastest growth since 2021. GDP was up 5% year on year in the fourth-quarter of 2024, surpassing the 4.7% growth rate expected by Reuters.
Investors have been watching the city-state’s Straits Times Index which hit an all-time high at the start of the week. The 30-stock benchmark, however, fell 0.37%, following the GDP announcement.
