Shares fluctuated in Hong Kong and edged higher in Shanghai as a further drop in Chinese producer prices and tepid consumer prices bolstered speculation that the government would need to offer more support. Japanese stocks snapped a two-day decline, while Australian shares rebounded after falling in the prior three sessions. South Korean equities are at their highest level since June last year.
Contracts on U.S. indexes inched lower during early trade in Asia. A jump in jobless claims to the highest level since October 2021 delivered a boost to the tech sector. The S&P 500 added 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3% as chipmakers including Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. were among the biggest gainers.
Oil dropped on regional media reports that ignited speculation that the U.S. and Iran are nearing a deal that would pave the way for more Iranian crude exports. US officials denied the reports. Back home, the policy rates were left unchanged by the RBI at 6.5%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note in the U.S. was trading at 3.73%. Crude oil price was trading around the $75 mark, while Bitcoin was trading below the $27,000 level.
At 8:14 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was up 0.18% at 18,754.
Domestic benchmark stock indices slid after inching closer to record highs on Thursday as all sectors, except metals, declined after the RBI kept policy rates unchanged. The local currency depreciated 2 paise to close at 82.57 after opening at 82.58 against the greenback on Thursday.
Foreign investors remained net buyers for the third consecutive day in a row on Thursday and mopped up stocks worth Rs 212.4 crore, while domestic institutional investors turned net buyers and offloaded equities worth Rs 405 crore, according to the NSE data.
