This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Hong Kong markets fell over 2% on Friday as Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed, due to uncertainty around the U.S. economy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 2.19% and ended at 23,689.72, dragged by healthcare and consumer cyclical stocks, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1.52% to close at 3,914.7.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2% to 37,677.06, and the broad-based Topix added 0.29% to close at 2,804.16, notching a seven-day winning streak.
The Topix had earlier hit an intraday high of 2,818.04, its highest level since July 2024.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.23% to 2,643.13 and marked five straight days of gains, while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.79% to end at 719.41.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.16% higher, closing at 7,931.2.
Japan’s headline inflation rose 3.7% year on year in February, easing from a two-year high of 4% seen in January.
U.S. stock futures traded around the flatline after an attempt at extending Wednesday’s Federal Reserve-fueled rally sputtered.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 slipped 0.22%, thwarting the market’s attempts at recovery from a monthlong rout to close at 5,662.89. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.33% to end the day at 17,691.63, weighed down by losses in Apple and Alphabet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 11.31 points, or 0.03%, and closed at 41,953.32.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
Indian defense stocks climb after defense council reportedly approves $6.25 billion of acquisitions
Major Indian defense stocks climbed on Friday after the country’s defense council reportedly approved 540 billion rupees ($6.25 billion) worth of capital acquisition proposals.
Hindustan Aeronautics, which makes fighter jets for the country, rose as much as 2.38% and is on pace for a fifth straight day of gains, while munitions manufacturer Bharat Dynamics climbed as much as 5.67%.
The plan approved by India’s defense council covers more powerful engines for the army’s T-90 tanks, advanced torpedoes for submarines, as well as early warning aircraft, among others.
— Lim Hui Jie
Hang Seng falls over 2%, dragged by healthcare and consumer cyclical stocks
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was the largest loser in Asia on Friday, with the index shedding over 2% and dragged by healthcare and consumer cyclical stocks.
The largest loser on the HSI however, was electric vehicle maker BYD, which saw a loss of as much as 8.35% on Friday.
Other names in the top losers list included Chinese chip company Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, which lost as much as 7.68%, and pharmaceutical company WuXi Biologics, falling as much as down 5.79%.
— Lim Hui Jie
Australia grocery chains see wider profit margins; regulator recommends reform
Australia’s major supermarket operators have seen wider profit margins in the past five years, the competition regulator said in a report on Friday, naming Coles and Woolworths among the most profitable grocery chains among global peers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in a 441-page report said the industry requires wider reform and outlined 20 recommendations to improve pricing transparency for customers and suppliers.
Under the recommendations, the supermarket chains are advised to notify customers when a product’s size has been reduced, alerting customers to a practice known as “shrinkflation,” commonly used to hide price increases.
Grocery prices have jumped 24% in the past five years, the report said.
— Anniek Bao
Shares of Mitsubishi Motors climb after reports of Foxconn collaboration
Shares of Mitsubishi Motors rose 4.5% after reports that it is closing in on an EV collaboration deal with Taiwan’s Foxconn, according to Nikkei citing sources close to the matter.
Discussions have been ongoing for over six months, sources were cited as saying.
—Lee Ying Shan
Japan inflation eases to 3.7% in February, down from a two-year high
Japan’s headline inflation rose 3.7% year on year in February, easing from a two-year high of 4% seen in January.
Core inflation — which excludes prices of fresh food — was at 3%, lower than January’s figure of 3.2%. However, the core inflation figure was higher with expectations of 2.9% from economists polled by Reuters.
The inflation figures come shortly after the Bank of Japan held interest rates steady.
Read the full story here.
—Lim Hui Jie
Individual investors unusually bearish for 10th time in 12 weeks
Optimism about the outlook for stocks over the next six months rose a touch among individual investors surveyed this week by the American Association of Individual Investors, but remained below the historic average for the 10th week in 12.
Bullish views rose to 21.6% of the total from 19.1% last week, but was far below the historic average of 37.5%. Bearish views toward the market dipped to 58.1% from 59.2%, above its historic average of 31.0% for the 16th week in 18. The balance of respondents were neutral on the stock outlook.
The latest AAII survey marked the first time in its history, which goes back to the late 1980s, that the percentage of bearish Main Street investors stayed above 57% for a fourth consecutive week.
In response to a special question, nearly three quarters of those polled said a recession this year was either highly likely or more likely to occur than not, with 50.4% saying odds of an economic contraction were “higher-than-typical” and another 21.7% saying a recession was “highly likely.” Fewer than one in five, or 18%, said the odds of a recession were no more or less than they expect, while just 9.7% said a recession was unlikely.
— Scott Schnipper
U.S. home sales rose more than expected in February
Homebuyers are starting to reenter the market as more housing becomes available to buy, leading to a better-than-expected increase in February.
According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes rose 4.2% in February from January, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units. However, sales were down 1.2% from the same period a year ago. But that was still better than what economists were anticipating.
— Christina Cheddar Berk
