Beijing, November 25 (BNA): Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as concerns about the regional economy deepened and Japan reported higher-than-expected inflation.
Standards fell in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong, but rose in Sydney and Shanghai, reports the Associated Press.
Investors are watching China’s lockdowns and restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus infections, as the direction China takes will have a significant impact on the rest of Asia.
Tokyo inflation data for November beat analyst expectations, with the core consumer price index rising 3.6%, the highest in more than four decades.
The Federal Reserve and other central banks of the world have raised interest rates in an effort to rein in inflation that has been high for decades.
But the Bank of Japan has resisted tightening monetary policy, a move that would counteract inflationary pressures by discouraging borrowing by businesses and consumers.
Rising COVID-19 cases and deaths in what experts call the eighth wave, in Japan and other Asian countries, are weighing on investor sentiment, but both remain relatively low so far. Many people in Japan and those countries have been vaccinated.
Stocks closed higher Thursday in France, Germany and Britain. US markets were closed for Thanksgiving. Wall Street will have a brief session on Friday.
In energy trading, US benchmark crude rose 50 cents to $78.44 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It shed $3.01 to $77.94 a barrel on Thursday.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, added 32 cents to $85.66 a barrel in London.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 138.68 yen from 138.58 yen. The price of the euro reached $1.0407, down slightly from $1.0411.
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