Asian Stocks Rise Amid US Market Rally, Despite Trump Tariffs
Asian stocks predominantly gained on Friday, bolstered by a record-breaking rally on Wall Street. Investors largely ignored President Trump's latest tariff threats.
* Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.24% to 22,303.80.
* Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.25% to 3,340.95.
* Nikkei 225 declined 0.43% to 39,292.74.
* Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.34% to 8,569.10.
* South Korea's KOSPI gained 0.63% to 2,599.43.
Market strategist Yeap Jun Rong attributed the positive sentiment to "tailwinds for risk sentiments," including a strong handover on Wall Street, a weaker US dollar, and lower Treasury yields.
Chinese technology stocks listed in Hong Kong performed well, with Tencent, Xiaomi, and Meituan rising over 4%. This renewed interest follows the release of DeepSeek's AI model, rivaling OpenAI's capabilities on cheaper hardware.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 surged 1%, reaching within 0.1% of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5%. US stocks surged after officials in Washington announced that reciprocal tariffs would take time to implement.
In energy markets, US benchmark crude increased 7 cents to $71.36 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 17 cents to $75.19 a barrel. Currency markets showed minimal fluctuations, with the US dollar steady at approximately 152.88 Japanese yen and the euro hovering around $1.0459.