Asian markets mixed on Friday

Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rebounded from its biggest loss in nearly three months, while Japan reported December factory output weakened.

Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced while Tokyo and Seoul declined.

Overnight, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 1%, recovering some of its loss from the previous day’s 2.6% fall after American unemployment data were better than expected.

U.S. markets were roiled by a spate of trading by small investors of video game vendor GameStop that hurt hedge funds that bet the stock would fall. Brokers suspended some options trading in that and other stocks.

Elsewhere, investors were watching coronavirus infection spikes in Europe and Asia, renewed travel curbs and negotiations in Washington over President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion economic aid package.

“We are still moving towards a recovery from the pandemic, just a heck of a lot bumpier than anyone had expected,” said Stephen Innes of Axi in a report. “Yet the recent stock market washout may have put the path forward on a cleaner footing.”

The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -1.15% added 0.2% while the Nikkei 225 NIK, -1.89% in Tokyo shed 1.5%. The Hang Seng HSI, -0.88% in Hong Kong advanced 0.3%.

The Kospi 180721, -2.84% in Seoul slid 1.9% and the S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.64% in Sydney fell 0.9%. New Zealand NZ50GR, +0.31% and Singapore STI, -0.56% advanced while Jakarta JAKIDX, -1.60% declined.

The Japanese government reported December factory output fell 1.6% from the previous month in the second straight decline.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.98% rose to 3,787.38, escaping the red for the year so far. Its decline Thursday was its biggest since October.

Investors watched wild swings in GameStop GME, -44.29%, which skidded 44.3%, cinema chain AMC AMC, -56.63% and other stocks that have become targets for online traders.

Several fell after Robinhood and other trading platforms restricted trading, causing an outcry by some customers.

The Dow Jones industrial average DJIA, +0.99% gained 1% to 30,603.36. The Nasdaq composite COMP, +0.50% added 0.5% to 13,337.16.

More than 100 companies in the S&P 500 are due to report results for the final quarter of 2020.

Apple AAPL, -3.50% fell 3.5% after the iPhone maker posted a record quarterly profit, helped by big sales of iPhones and Apple Watches during the holiday season. Investors focused on the fact that Apple was conservative in its full-year outlook for 2021, citing the pandemic and economic uncertainty.

Hopes are high for Biden’s aid package, but worries grew that the plan might be scaled back under pressure from Republican legislators.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude CLH21, -0.34% lost 4 cents to $52.30 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 51 cents on Thursday to close at $52.34. Brent crude BRNH21, -0.05%, the price standard for international oils, rose 16 cents to $55.26 per barrel in London.

The dollar USDJPY, 0.21% rose to 104.47 Japanese yen from Thursday’s 104.24 yen.

source:marketwatch.com