Asian Shares Rise On Reciprocal Tariff Delay

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rose broadly on Friday, Treasury yields dipped broadly, and the dollar stabilized around a near three-week trough as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a delay in implementing reciprocal tariffs until April and TikTok returned on the U.S. app stores of Apple and Google.

Gold ticked higher in Asian trade while oil edged up after settling on a flat note Thursday.

China's Shanghai Composite index ended 0.43 percent higher at 3,346.72 after a choppy session.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 3.69 percent to 22,620.33, with AI stocks leading gains on easing U.S.-China trade war fears.

Video games firm Tencent, smartphone maker Xiaomi and online services firm Meituan surged 6-7 percent.

Japanese markets fell notably as the yen strengthened on BoJ rate hike bets. The Nikkei average dropped 0.79 percent to 39,149.43, snapping a three-day rally due to profit taking and currency woes. The broader Topix index settled 0.23 percent lower at 2,759.21.

Fast Retailing fell 1.6 percent and Tokyo Electron ended down over 2 percent while Sony surged 8.7 percent after raising its profit forecast.

Nissan gained 2.6 percent and Honda Motor rose 2.5 percent after deciding against a possible $60 billion merger. Toppan Holdings soared 15.5 percent after an upbeat profit outlook.

Seoul stocks eked out modest gains to hit a three-month high. The Kospi average ended up 0.31 percent at 2,591.05.

Australian markets trimmed some gains after hitting a record high earlier. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up by 0.19 percent to 8,555.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.24 percent higher at 8,825.10.

Tech stocks such as Xero and Zip rose around 1 percent each. Gold miner Newmont advanced 1.6 percent and Gold Road Resources added 1.2 percent.

AMP plunged nearly 15 percent after the wealth manager posted a 43 percent slide in full-year statutory profit, largely reflecting the sale of the firm's advice arm. Cochlear plummeted 13.7 percent after missing profit expectations.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.64 percent to 12,989.18 after a survey showed manufacturing activity in the country expanded for the first time in nearly two years, with January's PMI reaching 51.4.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight to close near record highs while Treasury yields tumbled as data showed producer prices increased solidly in January, but components of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation reading were relatively tame, adding to hopes the PCE reading may be cooler than currently expected.

Sentiment was also buoyed by hopes of a resolution to the Ukraine war and President Trump's decision to delay the implementation of his much-hyped additional tariffs on foreign goods.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.5 percent, the S&P 500 rallied 1 percent and the Dow added 0.8 percent.