Hong Kong Skyline
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Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Friday following a subdued Wall Street session.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 fell 0.17%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.36%, while the Topix declined 1.12%. Yields on the Japanese 10-year government bond rose to 1.94%, the highest since July 2007, data from LSEG showed.
South Korea’s Kospi hovered just below the flatline, while the Kosdaq Index retreated 0.25%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.48%, while mainland CSI 300 was flat at the open.
Shares of Moore Threads, a Beijing-based graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturer often referred to as “China’s Nvidia,” soared by more than 400% on its debut in Shanghai following its $1.1 billion listing.
Markets are watching tech stocks closely amid recent concerns of a bubble. Shares of SoftBank rose nearly 4%, posting the third straight day of gains. The stock pared some gains and was last trading 1.02% higher.
Founder Masayoshi Son on Monday downplayed the decision to offload the conglomerate’s entire Nvidia stake, saying he “was crying” over parting with the shares.
India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.2% after the Reserve Bank of India cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, matching forecasts from economists polled by Reuters.
The monetary policy committee delivered a unanimous reduction, citing “weakness in some key economic indicators,” even as headline inflation has eased significantly and is expected to be revised lower in the first quarter of 2025, said RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages traded mixed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose slightly as investors prepared for next week’s interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve.
The broad-based index inched up 0.11% to close at 6,857.12, while the Nasdaq Composite traded higher by just 0.22% to finish at 23,505.14. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped just 31.96 points, 0.07%, to 47,850.94.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
