Most of the Asian equity benchmarks traded higher in early deals on Friday though most of it opened lower at the start of the session, boosted by the optimism followed by the US proposal for higher taxes to fund the country’s latest social plan, decline in weekly US job claims. However, Japan’s Nikkei pulled back in line with the negative trend in US indexes and European stock markets overnight amid continuing concerns about the spike in daily domestic coronavirus infections and possible lockdowns. The market sentiments also dulled as Japanese government is set to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo on Friday, as the country reported a nationwide tally of more than 5,000 new cases for a second consecutive day on Thursday as the highly contagious variants drive a fourth wave of infections. Among the Asian markets, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, China and Malaysia are in positive note. Bucking the trend, Japan and Singapore are trading lower.
Hang Seng rose by 258.98 points or 0.90% to 29,014.32, KOSPI Index enlarged by 0.40 points or 0.01% to 3,177.92, Taiwan Weighted widened 83.62 points or 0.49% to 17,180.59, Jakarta Composite increased by 18.97 points or 0.32% to 6,013.15, Shanghai Composite up by 1.57 points or 0.05% to 3,466.68 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI higher by 0.50 points 0.03% to 1,608.23.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 down by 196.75 points or 0.67% to 28,991.42, Straits Times decreased 8.54 points or 0.27% to 3,179.24