Asia report: Markets mixed, Tokyo rises on wave of fresh data

(Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific equity markets ended Friday's session mixed as investors assessed hotter-than-expected Tokyo inflation. The muted tone followed a flat US session over the Thanksgiving holiday, leaving the Nasdaq Composite on course to snap a seven-month winning streak.

According to Patrick Munnelly, market strategy partner at TickMill, "stocks declined on the final trading day of the month, even as expectations for a Fed interest rate cut increased, keeping a global equity index poised for its strongest week since June," underscoring the broader caution in risk assets.

Tokyo shares rise after wave of Japan data

Japan's benchmarks advanced modestly - the Nikkei 225 rose 0.17% to 50,253.91, supported by gains in Okuma Corporation, Furukawa Electric and MinebeaMitsumi, which climbed 6.66%, 4.73% and 4.45%, respectively.

The Topix added 0.29% to 3,378.44.

Tokyo's headline inflation eased slightly to 2.7% in October from 2.8% in September, but core inflation ticked up to 2.8%, above the central bank's 2% target and the 2.7% forecast in a Reuters poll, reinforcing expectations of a near-term rate increase.

Japan's unemployment rate held at 2.6%, while female employment reached a record 31.59 million, driven by wage growth and labour shortages.

Retail sales rose 1.7% year-on-year, industrial production increased 1.4% month-on-month, and housing starts climbed 3.2%, defying expectations of a sharp decline.

Munnelly noted that "Asian equities held steady, heading for their first monthly drop since March," highlighting how resilient domestic data was not enough to materially sway broader sentiment.

Mainland China stocks edge higher

Elsewhere, Chinese mainland stocks edged higher.

The Shanghai Composite gained 0.34% to 3,888.60, with Guangdong Meiyan Jixiang Hydropower, Chongqing Construction Engineering Group and Aerospace Auto each advancing more than 10%.

The Shenzhen Component rose 0.85% to 12,984.08.

Hong Kong lagged, with the Hang Seng Index slipping 0.34% to 25,858.89 as WuXi AppTec fell 3.8% and Alibaba Health Information Technology declined 3.3%.

Alibaba Health reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 16.3bn (£1.74bn) and basic earnings per share of CNY 0.041, continuing a multi-period improvement in margins that supported sentiment around its latest results.

Nongfu Spring lost 3.23%.

South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.51% to 3,926.59, pressured by steep losses in Youngone Holdings, Youngone Corporation and LG Energy Solution, which sank 7.58%, 6.91% and 6.85%, respectively.

LG Energy Solution weakened after parent LG Chem announced plans to cut its stake to about 70% from nearly 80% to improve shareholder returns.

Broader risk appetite was constrained as "the MSCI All Country World Index remained mostly unchanged as stocks struggled to find a direction following the US Thanksgiving holiday," Munnelly said, adding that the index still "finished the week with a 3.1% increase."

Sydney bourse marginally lower, Wellington shares gain

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was marginally lower, easing 0.04% to 8,614.10.

AP Eagers fell 3.72%, while Suncorp Group dropped 3.57% after JPMorgan downgraded the insurer to 'neutral' and cut its price target to AUD 20 following severe weather-related claims in Queensland.

Centuria Capital declined 3.48%.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 gained 0.42% to 13,489.15, boosted by Pacific Edge, SkyCity Entertainment Group and Scales Corporation, which rose 4.17%, 3.7% and 3.42%, respectively.

Dollar slips against yen, strengthens on down under counterparts

In currency markets, the dollar slipped 0.03% against the yen to JPY 156.27, but strengthened against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, trading at AUD 1.5328 and NZD 1.7525, up 0.16% and 0.4%, respectively.

Looking at oil prices, Brent crude futures were last down 0.14% on ICE at $63.25, while West Texas Intermediate was in a trading halt due to a datacentre cooling issue at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Munnelly highlighted the disruption, stating that "trading in futures and options on the CME was suspended due to technical difficulties," which affected "trading in US Treasuries futures and S&P 500 Index contracts" as well as forex activity on the EBS platform.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.