Asian Shares Mostly Higher; Chinese Markets Slump On Economic Recovery Concerns

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks advanced on Friday after Meta and Amazon delivered forecast beating results.

iPhone maker Apple also delivered strong results for its fiscal first quarter, but its China sales missed Wall Street targets.

Investor sentiment was also underpinned by a broadly weaker dollar and falling yields as recent indicators signaled cracks in the U.S. labor market.

The U.S. January jobs report will be released later in the day, with analysts expecting a modest slowdown in job growth.

Chinese shares fell sharply despite promises of further fiscal stimulus from the government to boost the government amid a deepening property slump.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index tumbled 1.46 percent to 2,730.15 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.21 percent lower at 15,533.56, giving up early gains.

Japanese shares eked out modest gains as chip-related stocks followed their U.S. peers higher. The Nikkei average rose 0.41 percent to 36,158.02 while the broader Topix index ended up 0.22 percent at 2,539.68.

Aozora Bank plunged 15.9 percent to extend losses for the previous session after flagging its first annual net loss in 15 years as a result of higher provisions for U.S. commercial property.

Broadcasting company Nippon Television Holdings soared 22.8 percent after a share buyback announcement. Peers TV Asahi Holdings and TBS Holdings rallied 17.6 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively.

Seoul stocks soared after data showed South Korea's exports rose for a fourth month in January and consumer inflation slowed to a six-month low.

The Kospi average jumped 2.87 percent to 2,615.31, led by auto and chip-related stocks. Hyundai Motor surged 9.1 percent, Samsung Electronics gained 2.2 percent and SK Hynix added 1.7 percent.

Australian markets climbed amid hopes that the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep rates on hold next week. Favorable producer price inflation reading also boosted sentiment.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 jumped 1.47 percent to 7,699.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 1.44 percent higher at 7,931.60.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 index edged up 0.12 percent to 11,931.23.

U.S. stocks rebounded overnight after logging their biggest daily drop of 2024 the previous day on hawkish Fed policy statement.

The Dow rose 1 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both surged around 1.3 percent as Treasury yields slipped on weaker labor market data.

U.S. jobless claims rose last week, and fourth quarter unit labor costs undershoot forecasts while business activity in the manufacturing sector continued to contract in January, separate reports showed.