Asian shares were mixed on Friday amid concerns over troubled Chinese real-estate developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團) and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investors were pleased to have received some clarity from the US Federal Reserve a day earlier that it was not on the verge of raising interest rates.
Evergrande Group’s announcement that it was making a payment due on Thursday has helped to ease worries over whether it might default on its huge debt obligations.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Markets were given a healthy lead, with all three main New York indices closing well up for a second straight day on Thursday.
In Taiwan, the TAIEX closed up 181.97 points, or 1.07 percent, at 17,260.19 on Friday, on turnover of NT$275.419 billion (US$9.93 billion). For the week, the index lost 0.1 percent.
Tokyo stocks rallied more than 2 percent on Friday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged 2.06 percent to 30,248.81 as investors returned from a midweek break, but was down 0.25 percent from a week earlier.
The broader TOPIX advanced 2.31 percent to 2,090.75, posting a weekly gain of 0.03 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI inched up 0.07 percent to 3,125.24, declining 0.49 percent from a week earlier, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.37 percent to 7,342.6, down 0.83 percent on the week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.3 percent to 24,192,16, posting a weekly drop of 2.92 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.8 percent to 3,613.07, but gained 2.58 percent week-on-week.
India’s SENSEX rose 0.27 percent to 60,048.47, up 1.75 percent from a week earlier.
Risks remained for markets from the potential troubles at Evergrande, Masayuki Tsunashima of Mizuho Bank said.
Prolonged COVID-19 outbreaks also pose a danger, he said.
“So, it cannot be ruled out that optimism remains fragile or, at the very least opportunistic as underlying risks have simply not been addressed, much less put to bed, and this is consistent with markets remaining prone to volatility and negative shocks,” he said.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA and AFP
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