This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed Friday as investors assessed inflation data from Japan, while the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs dents investor sentiment.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.43%, while the Topix declined 0.33%. Japan’s inflation rate in January climbed to 4%, hitting its highest level since January 2023. Core inflation — which excludes prices of fresh food — rose to 3.2%, beating Reuters’ expectations of 3.1%.
South Korea’s Kospi traded 0.42% lower while the small-cap Kosdaq added 0.43%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.25%, while the Hang Seng Tech index added 3.44%. Shares of Hong Kong listed Alibaba rose 11% following a significant profit increase for the company in the December quarter, driven by growth in its Cloud Intelligence division and e-commerce sector. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.4%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.59% higher.
Investors will continue keeping an eye on the Japanese yen, which strengthened to a more than two-month high of 150.52 per U.S. dollar on Thursday amid bets of more rate hikes by the Bank of Japan this year. The currency is currently trading at 150.22 against the greenback.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed lower after the S&P 500 hit record highs for two consecutive days. Investors sold off shares of some popular companies following a weak forecast from retail giant Walmart, which raised concerns about the economic outlook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 450.94 points, or 1.01%, to end at 44,176.65. The S&P 500 shed 0.43% and closed at 6,117.52, and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.47% and closed at 19,962.36.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
Japan’s inflation rate climbs to 4% in January, highest in two years
Japan’s inflation rate in January climbed to 4%, hitting its highest level since January 2023.
Core inflation — which excludes prices of fresh food — rose to 3.2%, beating economists’ expectations of 3.1%, according to a Reuters poll. This figure was the highest since June 2023.
The so called “core-core” inflation rate, which strips out prices of both fresh food and energy and is closely monitored by the BOJ, climbed slightly to 2.5%.
The headline inflation has remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for 34 straight months.
Read the full story here.
—Lim Hui Jie
Stocks close lower
Stocks fell on Thursday as a weak outlook from Walmart pressured the broader market and worried investors about the health of earnings moving forward.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped more than 450 points, or 1%, to close at 44,176.65. The Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 0.5% to end at 19,962.36, while the S&P 500 pulled back 0.4% to finish the session at 6,117.52.
— Brian Evans
Morgan Stanley upgrades MSCI China to equal weight
After a difficult decade for MSCI China, Morgan Stanley says there is a slight improvement in the equity risk premium for Chinese stocks.
Strategist Jonathan Garner upgraded the MSCI China Index to equal weight from underweight in a research note on Wednesday. Return on equity trends are improving in favor of China, per Garner.
The upgrade “has less to do with the top down macro environment where our economists remain below consensus on nominal GDP growth in 2025,” the strategist wrote.
“Instead it is mainly a micro bottom-up self help story at the stock level in the context of a significant shift in index weights as weaker / more deflation impacted sectors are much diminished in sector representation,” Garner added.
He noted that artificial intelligence enthusiasm is also boosting sentiment around e-commerce and internet stocks.
The iShares MSCI China ETF is up more than 14% in 2025.
— Hakyung Kim
