Shares in Asia-Pacific rose on Friday, with technology stocks in the region jumping following big gains on Wall Street that saw the NASDAQ Composite surging 3%.
Japanese markets were closed Friday for holiday.
The Japanese yen traded at 129.91 per U.S. dollar, stronger after an earlier low of 130.95 against the greenback.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong popped 813.22 points, or 4%, to 21,089.39.
Shares of South Korean industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 4% while chipmaker SK Hynix climbed 2.7%. Krafton jumped 4.8%.
Apple supplier stocks in the region were also monitored by investors after the tech giant warned of a potential $8 billion hit from supply constraints.
Shares of South Korea’s LG Display gained 2.1% on Friday. AAC Technologies saw its stock in Hong Kong surge 8.1%. Over in Taiwan, shares of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company advanced 1.3%.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7157, still off levels above $0.72 seen earlier this week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 progressed 95.13 points, or 2.4%, to 4,016.24.
Chinese technology stocks jumped, with Tencent soaring 11.1% while Alibaba climbed 15.7%.
The surge in the China markets came after Chinese state media on Friday reported details of a Politburo meeting where officials promised more policy support to meet the country’s economic growth target for the year.
Mainland China has in recent weeks been battling its worst COVID outbreak since the initial shock of the pandemic in early 2020, with concerns surrounding the country’s economic outlook as authorities continues to stick with a strict “zero-COVID” strategy.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved forward 21.81 points, or 0.7%, to 3,356.90
In Korea, the Kospi index picked up 27.56 points, or 1%, to 2,695.05
In Taiwan, the Taiex index leaped 172.8 points, or 1.1%, to 16,592.18.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 edged up 8.35 points, or 0.1%, to 11,884.31.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 78.13 points, or 1.1%, to 7,435.01.
