Asian Shares Mixed After China Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as a slew of Chinese data backed calls for more stimulus.

The yen was little changed after Japan's key inflation gauge slowed in September for the first time in five months but an index excluding the effect of fuel held steady, keeping the Bank of Japan on track to raise interest rates further.

Gold continued to trade with a positive bias, climbing above $2,700 per ounce despite a surge in the U.S. yields and dollar after the release of upbeat retail sales data. Oil edged up slightly but was on track for its biggest weekly loss in over a month.

China's Shanghai Composite index rallied 2.91 percent to 3,261.56 as the country's major commercial banks cut their deposit rates for a second time this year and the central bank officially launched a swap facility aimed at boosting the equity market.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 3.61 percent to 20,804.11, getting a lift from technology shares after Taiwanese chipmaker and Nvidia supplier TSMC posted forecast-beating earnings.

China's GDP grew 4.6 percent on a yearly basis in the third quarter, official data showed earlier in the day. This was the weakest growth since the first quarter of 2023.

Industrial production surged 5.4 percent in September and retail sales growth improved to 3.2 percent from 2.1 percent in the previous month while property investment contracted 10.1 percent from a year ago, separate set of data revealed.

Japanese markets ended slightly higher as the yen wakened beyond 150 per dollar. The Bank of Japan must focus on the economic impact of unstable markets and risks from overseas, Governor Kazuo Ueda said today, suggesting the central bank was in no rush to raise interest rates further.

The Nikkei average rose 0.18 percent to 38,981.75 while the broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 2,688.98.

Seoul stocks fell for a third straight session due to continued selling by foreign investors. The Kospi average shed 0.59 percent to close at 2,593.82. SK Hynix plunged 4.4 percent and Hanmi Semiconductor plummeted 10.4 percent.

Australian markets ended notably lower after setting a new record high the previous day. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.87 percent to 8,283.20, dragged down by miners and technology stocks. The broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.85 percent lower at 8,551.20.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index edged up 0.43 percent to 12,823.89.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as TSMC handily beat estimates for Q3 and investors trimmed their bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year.

U.S. retail sales increased slightly more than expected in September and jobless claims fell unexpectedly last week while industrial production decreased in September, reversing output growth in August, separate set of data showed.

The Dow rose 0.4 percent to its fourth record close in the last five sessions and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally higher while the S&P 500 ended flat with a negative bias.