Shares in Asia on Friday advanced, tracking a rally on Wall Street after a group of big banks offered a lifeline to First Republic Bank, the lender investors had focused on in their latest hunt for troubles in the banking industry.
Benchmarks rose more than 1 percent in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tokyo. US futures were mixed and oil prices climbed.
The S&P 500 on Thursday rose 1.8 percent, erasing earlier losses following reports that First Republic Bank could get help or sell itself to another bank.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Markets have gyrated this week on concerns over the toll on banks from the fastest set of interest rate hikes in decades. The turmoil flared with last week’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the second-largest bank failure in US history.
“The market remains cautious; traders do not want to get overexcited, especially with investors still focusing on what can go wrong instead of what could go right,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said in a report.
In Taipei, the TAIEX closed up 231.84 points, or 1.52 percent, at 15,452.96, falling 0.47 percent from the previous week. Turnover totaled NT$264.593 billion (US$8.66 billion) during the session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.64 percent to 19,518.59, posting a 1.03 percent weekly gain, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.73 percent to 3,250.55, rising 0.63 percent for the week.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 percent to 27,333.79, falling 2.88 percent from the previous week, while the broader TOPIX rose 1.15 percent to 1,959.42, down 3.55 percent weekly.
Shares in major Japanese banks, which fell sharply at times this week, were mostly slightly higher.
Seoul’s KOSPI added 0.75 percent to 2,395.69, up 0.05 percent for the week, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.42 percent to 6,994.8, down 2.1 percent weekly, and India’s SENSEX gained 0.62 percent to 57,989.90, falling 1.94 percent for the week.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
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