Asia-Pacific equity markets closed mostly higher on Friday, August 14, capping a week defined by renewed investor optimism across the region.
With no major escalation in the Iran conflict and growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in September, markets displayed a firmer appetite for risk, and sentiment in the technology sector recovered notably.
South Korea's Kospi index embodied these trends most sharply, rising 2.42% in the session to close the week up 11%. Both Samsung and SK Hynix — manufacturers of memory chips for artificial intelligence data centres — posted strong single-session gains of 4.37% and 4.64% respectively.
"The slight reduction in uncertainty around US monetary policy has become a catalyst for the recovery in technology stocks," said Yugo Tsuboi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities, as quoted by Bloomberg.
"With US inflation showing no signs of worsening, fears that the Fed will adopt a more aggressive stance have eased. This is encouraging buying, particularly in high-growth company stocks," he added.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.59% while the Topix gained 0.51%, with technology conglomerate Sony jumping more than 5% in the session and healthcare firm Medley surging 23%. The Topix closed the week with a cumulative gain of 3%.
In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.95% near the close, while the Shanghai Composite traded near the flatline, posting a marginal gain of 0.02%.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=530526
