The Shanghai composite rose to around 3,260.35, while the Nikkei 225 was at 23,406.49, the Topix index was near 1,636.64, and Kospi finished flat at 2,396.69
Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Friday as investors watched regional technology stock movements following a decline in the sector.
Mainland Chinese stocks were higher by their close, with the Shanghai composite up 0.79% to around 3,260.35 while the Shenzhen component rose 1.57% to about 12,942.95. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.95%, as of its final hour of trading.
Elsewhere, Japanese stocks saw gains on the day, as the Nikkei 225 rose 0.74% to 23,406.49 while the Topix index advanced 0.72% to 1,636.64. South Korea’s Kospi finished its trading day little changed at 2,396.69.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.83% to close at 5,859.40.
Shares of major miner Rio Tinto dipped 0.59% after the firm announced its chief executive will be stepping down “by mutual agreement.” That came following a board-led review over the legal destruction of historically significant Aboriginal rockshelters, according to Reuters. Other major miners saw larger downward moves, with Fortescue Metals Group down about 3.07% while BHP fell 1.16%.
Technology shares regionally were mixed in Friday trade, after their counterparts on Wall Street slipped overnight amid a recent downward trend.
In Japan, shares of conglomerate Softbank Group were up 1.03% while Sharp dropped 1.57%. Over in South Korea, industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw its stock slip 0.34%. SK Hynix, on the other hand, advanced 2.35%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent rose 2.27% while Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation jumped 6.03%.
In the U.S., the major stock averages saw losses on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.89, or 1.45%, to 27,534.58. The S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 3,339.19 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% to 10,919.59.
Meanwhile, geopolitical developments also likely weighed on investor sentiment, amid a recent rise in tensions between the U.K. and EU.
It’s looking more and more like (U.K.) Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push for a hard Brexit, Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, wrote in a Sept. 10 note.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.245 after an earlier high of 93.352.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.15 per dollar after changing hands at levels below 105.9 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7289 after touching an earlier low of $0.7249.
