Asian Stock Market: Trades higher amid cautious optimism
- Asian stocks trade mostly higher on Friday despite downbeat Wall Street performance.
- Trades in green after two days of lower movement as coronavirus risk persists, central banks tapering nervousness.
- US and China’s policymakers hold talks for the first time in the last seven months.
Asian stocks head up on the last trading day of the week amid the central bank’s tapering anxiety among investors.
US market closed in red, while Dow Jones Industrial Average record 0.43% losses, S&P 500 lost 0.46%, and Nasdaq Composite declined 0.25%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-pacific shares outside Japan rises 0.47% by the press time of early Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5%, hovering at near six-month highs amid the optimism of economic rebound following Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s sudden resignation last week.
Adding to the optimism, a White House Statement confirmed, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with his US counterpart Joe Biden to discuss a broad strategic discussion on the mutual area of interests convergence.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.56% and is on the way to climb 3.7% for the week. The Chinese government reaffirmed its commitment to deliver more fiscal stimulus to support China’s economic recovery.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.65%, South Korea’s Kospi traded up 0.36%.
The ASX 200 jumped 0.41% as traders cheered up reports that most regions in Victoria exited lockdown on Friday and that Melbourne and Sydney will end extended lockdown in the coming weeks.
US Dollar Index (DXY) remains little unchanged and trades near 92.50 with 0.02% gains.