Asian stocks advanced Friday, helped by buying of technology-related shares, while oil prices slipped as traders watched for developments in the Iran war.
Market Trends
South Korea’s Kospi gained 2.5% to 7,475.94, recovering some of its losses from earlier in the week. Shares in memory chipmaker SK Hynix climbed 2.2% in Seoul.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 69,030.35. SoftBank Group, a key investor in OpenAI, jumped 10.5%, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron added 4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded 1.8% higher at 24,455.01 and the Shanghai Composite index erased earlier losses to fall 0.5% to 4,017.50.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 8,806.00. India’s Sensex added 0.9%.
Oil prices fell as global oil supplies remained under pressure due to a limited number of vessels able to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy transport.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.3% to $76.07 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude shed 0.3% to $71.89 a barrel.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
