HONG KONG (AP) — Asia stocks were mostly lower on Friday after gains for Big Tech shares helped U.S. stock indexes claw back much of their slide from the day before. U.S. futures and oil prices were higher. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was up 0.4% at 39,609.60, with the dollar standing at 153.23 Japanese yen, slightly lower than the 34-year high of 153.32 yen it reached on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.7% to 16,826.98 and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower, to 3,032.22. China’s trade data for March will be released later in the day. “The resilience of Asian equities is noteworthy, especially considering the stronger U.S. dollar and China’s ongoing deflationary challenges,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a commentary. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.7% to 2,686.89 after the Bank of Korea held its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.50%. |
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