People walking through the neon lit night streets of Sinchon in the heart of Seoul, South Korea’s vibrant capital city.
Fotovoyager | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight as President Donald Trump signed a reciprocal tariffs plans, but did not enact the levies on them immediately.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.76% higher, after hitting a intra-day record in the previous session.
Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 started the day down 0.15%, while the broader Topix index was up 0.31%.
South Korea’s Kospi opened 0.14% higher while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.74%.
The country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 2.9% in January, easing from its three-year high of 3.7% in the month before.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 21,941 pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 21,814.37.
Meanwhile, India’s wholesale price inflation, capturing price changes by wholesalers, is expected to rise 2.5% in January, more than 2.3% growth in the previous month.
Singapore’s GDP rose 5% year on year in the fourth-quarter of 2024, surpassing the 4.7% growth expected by Reuters.
