Asian Shares Retreat Despite Positive China Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, even as Hong Kong markets edged up after the release of positive readings on Chinese manufacturing activity and home sales.

A cautious undertone prevailed elsewhere across Asia due to mixed earnings from U.S. technology companies, persisting Middle East tensions and uncertainty ahead of next week's U.S. presidential election outcome.

Apple reported weaker-than-anticipated sales in China. while Amazon and Intel issued strong guidance.

Investor focus also shifted to U.S. jobs data due later in the day that could offer additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.

The dollar steadied against major peers while gold recovered some ground and headed for a small weekly gain after falling from recent record highs on Thursday.

Oil extended gains from the previous session after Israeli intelligence suggested Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days.

China's Shanghai Composite index fluctuated before ending 0.24 percent lower at 3,272.01 ahead of China's top legislative body meeting from Nov. 4-8.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 0.93 percent to 20,506.43 after a private survey showed China's factory activity swung back into expansion among smaller manufacturers in October.

Also, sales of new homes at China's biggest home builders grew from a year earlier for the first time this year last month after authorities unleashed their strongest package of measures.

Japanese markets tumbled after the yen jumped nearly 1 percent against the greenback Thursday on comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda that currency markets have had a major impact on the economy, leaving door open for near-term rate hikes.

Investors also reacted to survey data showing that Japan's factory activity shrank at the fastest pace in three months in October.

The Nikkei average fell 2.63 percent to 38,053.67 while the broader Topix index settled 1.90 percent lower at 2,644.26.

Chip testing device maker Lasertec plunged 16.4 percent as its earnings report fell short of market expectations. Advantest lost 4.4 percent, Tokyo Electron gave up 3.9 percent and technology investors SoftBank Group plummeted 5.6 percent.

Seoul stocks fell for a third day running due to losses in the technology sector. The Kospi average dropped 0.54 percent to 2,542.36. Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, fell 1.5 percent, and SK Hynix declined 2.2 percent.

Australian markets fell for a third straight session following worrying earnings forecasts from Microsoft and Meta.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped half a percent to 8,118.80, reaching its lowest level in seven weeks. The broader All Ordinaries index also fell half a percent to close at 8,379.70.

Financials were among the worst hit after Macquarie Group's profit fell short of analyst estimates. Shares of the financial services conglomerate tumbled 3.6 percent. Across the Atlantic, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended down 0.63 percent at 12,559.28.

U.S. stocks tumbled overnight as Meta Platforms and Microsoft warned of rising costs for artificial intelligence.

In economic news, consumer spending beat expectations in September and unemployment claims dropped to a five-month low while labor costs posted their smallest increase in more than three years in the third quarter amid cooling wage growth, separate set of data showed.

PCE index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, revealed a slight decline in the headline inflation rate to 2.1 percent year-over-year in September while core PCE inflation held steady at 2.7 percent versus 2.6 percent expected, adding to recent concerns the Fed will lower rates more slowly than hoped.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeted 2.8 percent, the S&P 500 plunged 1.9 percent and the Dow dropped 0.9 percent.