Asia markets mostly fell on Friday, following three sessions of broad gains, as China delayed the release of trade data for January.
Asia Markets
Mainland Chinese shares bucked the downward trend to bounce back slightly from declines earlier.
- The Shanghai composite rose 0.33% to close at 2,875.96.
- The Shenzhen component edged up slightly to 10,611.55.
- The Shenzhen composite bounced 0.49% to 1,735.63.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 reversed gains and declined 0.19% to 23,827.98.
- The Topix was down 0.28% to 1,732.14.
- Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.02%.
- Australia shares followed the downward trend, with the ASX 200 down 0.38% to 7,022.60.
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MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.69% in the afternoon.
Currencies
- The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 98.472, climbing from levels near 97.600 earlier in the week.
- The Japanese yen traded at 109.94 per dollar, weakening from levels near 108.6 at the start of the week.
- The Australian dollar declined 0.12% to $0.6716, gaining from levels near $0.6690 on Monday.
Oil Prices
- Oil prices jumped on Friday during Asia hours, with U.S. crude futures up 0.16% to $51.11 per barrel.
- Brent higher by 0.42% to $55.16 per barrel.
