· Stocks in Asia mixed; major markets closed for Good Friday
Stocks in Asia were mixed on Friday, with major markets across the region closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Mainland Chinese shares were lower on the day. The Shanghai composite was down 1.04% to about 2,796.63 while the Shenzhen composite dropped 1.946% to approximately 1,721.22. The Shenzhen component fell 1.57% to 10,298.41.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.79% to close at 19,498.50 while the Topix index dipped 0.92% to end its trading day at 1,430.04.
South Korea’s Kospi added 1.33% to close at 1,860.70. Shares of Samsung Biologics skyrocketed 16.82% after the firm announced Thursday that it had entered into an agreement with Vir Biotechnology for large-scale manufacturing of SARS-COV-2 antibodies for potential Covid-19 treatment. The deal is valued at around $362 million, according to a statement from the two companies.
Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and India were all closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Data released Friday showed Chinese consumer inflation rising in March on a year-on-year basis. China’s consumer price index for March rose 4.3% year-on-year, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Still, that was less than expectations of a 4.8% year-on-year increase by analysts in a Reuters poll.
· Japanese shares dropped on Friday on profit-taking ahead of the weekend, with trading volume remaining low due to the Easter holidays abroad.
The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 0.1% to 19,326.78 by the midday break, despite overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors locked in some recent gains.
· Shanghai stocks slid on Friday on bleak factory gate data that pointed to a prolonged recovery, but ended the week with their biggest gains in five on hopes of more economic stimulus to shore up the world’s second-largest economy.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.6%, to 3,769.18, while the Shanghai Composite Index shed 1% to 2,796.63 points.
For the week, CSI300 gained 1.5%, while SSEC advanced 1.2%, its biggest weekly gain since the week of March 6.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
Thai
Eng