Tech stocks climbed in Asia on Friday, following US peers higher, while Chinese property stocks rallied following a surprise interest payment by debt-ridden property developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團).
Meanwhile, energy stocks dragged following a pullback in oil prices overnight, and as coal futures extended losses after Beijing signaled that it would intervene to cool surging prices that contributed to the country’s electricity shortage.
More broadly, investors have become increasingly concerned that persistent inflation could force central bankers to tighten monetary policy at a point where global economic growth remains fragile.
Regional bond yields rose with those on US Treasuries, where the market priced in higher inflation expectations by narrowing the spread between short and long-term yields, and pushing breakeven rates to the highest since 2012.
The US dollar held gains from overnight as better US jobs data boosted the case for a faster tapering of US Federal Reserve stimulus.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to 200.17, up 0.9 percent weekly.
The TAIEX on Friday edged down less than 0.1 percent to close at 16,888.74 points, paring its weekly gain to 0.6 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 on Friday advanced 0.3 percent to 28,804.85 points, led by technology shares, while energy and basic materials shares were the biggest drags. The benchmark index retreated 0.9 percent for the week.
The broader TOPIX ended the day less than 0.1 percent higher, with a 0.4 percent jump in the TOPIX growth index mostly negated by a 0.2 percent drop for the value index. It lost 1 percent weekly.
Chinese blue chips gained 0.7 percent on Friday, with the CSI300 Real Estate Index rising 2.1 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent, as an index tracking Hong Kong-listed mainland developers rallied 3.4 percent. The Hang Seng closed at 26,126.93 points, up 3.1 percent for the week.
South Korea’s KOSPI on Friday fell 0.04 percent to 3,006.16 points, down 0.3 percent from last week.
Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 10 points, or less than 0.01 percent, to close at 7,415.50, adding 0.7 percent for the week.
India’s SENSEX fell 0.2 percent on Friday, taking its weekly loss to 0.8 percent.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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