Asia stocks rise as tech rebounds; BOJ rate hike in focus
Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Friday, buoyed by a rebound in technology shares from bruising losses over the past week, although caution over a widely expected interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan limited overall gains.
Japanese markets outperformed ahead of the BOJ’s decision, although they, like most Asian markets, were nursing steep losses for the week. Japanese consumer price index inflation data read largely sticky for November, coming just hours before the BOJ’s decision.
Regional markets took positive cues from Wall Street, which rose overnight on a rebound in tech shares, especially as softer-than-expected CPI inflation data for November drummed up optimism over more rate cuts.
S&P 500 Futures were flat at 21:00 ET (02:00 GMT), as analysts said that December’s CPI reading was likely to have a greater bearing on interest rate expectations.
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Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.1%, leading gains across Asian markets, while the broader TOPIX index added 0.8%.
Local markets benefited from a rebound in tech shares, while also seeing some bargain buying after logging deep losses over the past week. The Nikkei was nursing a 2.6% decline this week.
Focus was squarely on the conclusion of a BOJ meeting later in the day, with markets broadly pricing in a 25 basis point hike by the central bank. Bets on a hike were spurred by increasingly sticky Japanese inflation and prolonged weakness in the yen.
CPI data released earlier on Friday showed inflation remained sticky and above the BOJ’s 2% annual target in November, reinforcing bets on a hike.
Beyond the hike, markets will be closely watching for any hawkish commentary from Governor Kazuo Ueda, with some analysts penciling at least one more rate hike by the BOJ in early-2026.
Broader Asian markets advanced on Friday, benefiting from a recovery in heavyweight tech shares as investors bought back into the battered sector.
Optimism over more U.S. interest rate cuts also boosted sentiment after Thursday’s soft CPI data. But analysts warned that the reading was likely to have been disrupted by a prolonged government shutdown in October and early-November, and that December’s CPI print will provide more definitive cues on inflation.
South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.6% on Friday, but was the worst performer in Asia this week, down nearly 4% on a wipeout in tech valuations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7% and was down 1.5% this week.
Indexes with relatively smaller tech valuations clocked smaller losses this week. China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, on Friday, and traded flat for the week.
Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.4% and was trading mildly lower for the week, while Singapore’s Straits Times index was flat.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index rose marginally, with the index trading down 0.9% this week amid renewed concerns over the Indian economy.
