Most of the stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region were closed on Friday on account of Christmas. Among the major markets that were open for trading, the Japanese market closed lower on profit-taking, while the Chinese market declined on concerns new share sales will divert money from existing equities. Meanwhile, the Taiwan market closed in positive territory.
On Wall Street, U.S. stocks saw moderate strength to close out the Christmas holiday-shortened week on Thursday, with buying interest driven largely by the day's upbeat jobs report. With the advance, the major averages all closed at their best levels of the year after moving higher for a fifth straight session.
The Dow closed up 53.66 points or 0.5 percent at 10,520.10, the Nasdaq advanced by 16.05 points or 0.7 percent to 2,285.69 and the S&P 500 rose by 5.89 points or 0.5 percent to 1,126.48.
Crude oil extended its rally on Thursday on light volume ahead of the holiday weekend. A weaker dollar added to oil's hedge value and helped add to the previous day's inventory-backed gains. Light sweet crude for February delivery settled at $78.05 per barrel, up $1.38 on the session.
The Japanese stock market closed lower on Friday as investors locked in profits in thin pre-holiday trading after the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed at a three-month high in the previous session. However, the dollar's firmness against the yen limited the market's downside. Automakers and exporters led the decline.
The Nikkei 225 Index declined 42.21 points or 0.40% to close at 10494.71, while the broader Topix Index of all First Section Issues edged down 4.33 points or 0.47% to settle at 909.39. The volume was only about 1.24 billion shares, the lowest level for a full trading day in 2009. On Thursday, positive cues from global markets and a weaker yen lifted market sentiment, driving the Nikkei index to a 3-month high past the psychological 10,500-mark. The Nikkei 225 Index gained 158.89 points, or 1.53% to 10,537, its highest close since Sept. 24, while the Topix index gained 10.66 points, or 1.18%, to a two-month high of 914.
Amid a raft of economic data released on Friday, Japan's core consumer prices dropped 1.7% year-on-year in November compared to the 2.2% fall in the preceding month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. Economists had expected a 2% decline. This is the ninth consecutive month in which core consumer prices have fallen. Month-on-month, the core CPI, which excludes fresh food from the price basket, dropped 0.2% in November following the 0.1% fall in October.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications also reported that Japan's unemployment rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 5.2% in November, up from 5.1% in the previous month, That came in line with the consensus call of 5.2%. The jobless rate stood at 4% a year ago.
Meanwhile, real household spending in Japan grew 2.2% year-on-year in November following the 1.6% increase in the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported. Economists had expected real household spending to rise 0.3%. Spending excluding that on housing, purchase of vehicles, money gifts and remittance climbed 2.5%.
Automobile production in Japan climbed 0.5% in November from the prior year to 859,677, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association or JAMA reported on Friday. That marked the first growth recorded in auto production in the nation following a fourteen month period of downturn. Automobile exports, however, plunged 19.8% year-on-year to 394,628 in November. In value terms, total auto exports decreased 4.1% to $10.96 billion.
Housing starts in Japan declined 19.1% year-on-year in November following a fall of 27.1% in October, data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed Friday. Economists had forecast a 23% drop.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar closed higher against the Japanese yen. The dollar closed in a range of 91.49-91.54 yen, up 0.27 yen from Thursday's close in Tokyo.
Automotive stocks closed lower. Toyota Motor Corp. declined 1.03%, Honda eased 0.32%, Nissan Motor lost 1.13% and Hino Motors gave away 1.54%, while Suzuki Motor added 0.22%. Among exporters, Canon declined 1.74%, Sony Corp edged down 0.37% and Tokyo Electron lost 1.67%.
Shipping stocks also ended in negative territory. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha lost 1.12%, Mitsui OSK Lines declined 1.64% and Nippon Yusen gave away 1.05%.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 1.79%, Mitsubishi UFJ lost 1.28%, Mizuho Financial slipped 2.30% and Resona Holdings edged down 0.63%.
Trading companies closed in negative territory. Mitsubishi Corp eased 0.87%, Mitsui & Co. lost 1.00%, Itochu Corp. declined 1.31% and Sumitomo Corp. slipped 0.63%.
Meanwhile, oil stocks mostly closed higher on the back of higher crude oil prices overnight. Inpex advanced 0.71% and Nippon Oil gained 0.72%, while Showa Shell eased 0.13%.
The Chinese stock market closed lower for the first time in three days on Friday, on concerns new share sales will divert money from existing equities. The caution was heightened by the unexpected announcement of an IPO by Anhui Xinhua Media.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 12.06 points or 0.38% to close at 3,141.35. The index has dropped 1.7% in December as a flood of share sales diverted funds from existing equities and the government raised down payments on land purchases. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Component Index lost 15.37 points or 0.12% to close at 13,289.94. Combined turnover dropped to 175.63 billion yuan from 202.26 billion yuan on the previous trading day.
Anhui Xinhua Media, the biggest publishing house in the province, said it will launch an initial public offering next week for a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, raising 712 million yuan to fund its expansion. Meanwhile, eight companies debuted in Shenzhen's ChiNext market for tech-heavy start-up companies today.
Mining company Zijin Mining Group lost 1.9%, while China Shenhua Energy Co. declined 1.3%. Jiangxi Copper Co. declined 1.7% and Zhongjin Gold Corp. slipped 2.6%. Chemical raw materials maker Tanshan Sanyou Chemical Industries tumbled 6.86% after the company said late Thursday that it has dropped plans to acquire control of a chemical fiber maker.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical company stocks closed higher. Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical Co. rose 3.1% and Joincare Pharmaceutical surged 6.3%. Among other gainers, Guangdong Mingzhou Group rose by the 10% daily limit after the company said it received a 78.8 million yuan dividend payment from Guangdong Dading Mining Co.
Liquified gas distributor Shenzhen Gas Corp. more than doubled in its Shanghai trading debut after the company raised 903.5 million yuan in its IPO. China CAMC Engineering Co. rose 3.4% after the company said its net income may rise 30%-50%.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's weighted index gained 9.05 points or 0.11% to close at 7,972.59. Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, the stock markets in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, India and Malaysia were closed on Friday for the Christmas Holiday.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.