Asian Shares Mixed As Rate Worries Weigh

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as China stimulus hopes offset interest-rate worries and mixed data from China.

The U.S. dollar's recent downward trend paused after three top Federal Reserve officials urged patience on rate cuts until it's clear inflation is moderating back to the 2 percent target.

Gold and oil clung to modest gains in Asian trading as the war in Gaza dragged on and the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill aimed at forcing President Joe Biden to resume arms deliveries to Israel.

Chinese markets rallied as authorities announced fresh measures to revive the struggling property market.

Shares in China Evergrande Group, the world's most indebted developer with borrowings of more than $300 billion, soared almost 18 percent and peer China Vanke jumped 10 percent, after China's central bank cut the minimum down payment rate for first-time homebuyers and suggested the government could buy up commercial real estate in a bid to boost the ailing housing market.

China's Shanghai Composite index surged 1.01 percent to 3,154.03 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.91 percent to 19,553.61.

Investors shrugged off mixed economic data released earlier in the day. China's industrial growth accelerated in April, while growth in April retail sales and fixed asset investment during the January-April period softened unexpectedly, official data revealed.

Japanese markets finished lower after a survey showed that majority of Japanese firms are worried about a weak yen hurting profits.

The Nikkei average dipped 0.34 percent to 38,787.38 while the broader Topix index closed 0.30 percent higher at 2,745.62.

Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron led losses to close about 2 percent lower while index heavyweight Fast Retailing shed 0.9 percent.

Seoul stocks tumbled, with chip and battery makers leading losses. The benchmark Kospi average dropped 1.03 percent to 2,724.62, after having touched a six-week high on Thursday.

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI fell 1-2 percent. Samyang Foods soared 30 percent after posting higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Australian stocks fell notably to snap a two-day winning streak, with banks, technology and healthcare stocks leading losses.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 fell 0.85 percent to 7,814.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.83 percent lower at 8,082.30.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index dipped 0.24 percent to 11,699.79 ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's monetary policy decision due next week.

U.S. stocks closed lower overnight, a day after all three major averages hit record closing highs following tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data.

In economic releases, weekly jobless claims indicated some cooling of the job market and factory output was unchanged in April while overall housing starts rebounded in April following a double-digit decline, separate reports showed.

The Dow reached an intraday high of 40,000 for the time before finishing marginally lower. The S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3 percent.