Investing.com– Asian stocks were mixed on Friday, with Chinese stocks falling further on rising tensions with Taiwan, while South Korean markets outperformed on gains in Samsung shares.
Broader markets moved mainly ahead of key US data due later in the day.
A U.S. market holiday on Thursday confined trading signals, while some cooling in sentiment on interest rate cuts also weighed on market caution. U.S. stock index futures were little changed in Asian trading.
Chinese stocks fall amid Taiwan tensions
Chinese stocks were the worst performers of the day, with the and indices down about 1%. Both indices continued the declines seen throughout most of June and early July.
Friday’s events were prompted by concerns about rising tensions with Taiwan, after reports that China had seized a Taiwanese fishing boat operating near the Chinese coast. Reports on Friday also mentioned Chinese warplanes in the Taiwan Strait.
Other reports also indicate that Taiwanese companies are pulling workers out of China after Beijing warned that supporters of an independent Taiwan could face drastic measures, including the death penalty.
Markets feared that escalating tensions, and in particular aggression from Beijing, could anger the US and lead to tougher economic restrictions against China.
Losses on mainland Chinese stock markets caused the Hong Kong stock index to fall 0.8%.
South Korean stocks fare better as Samsung posts mighty second-quarter results
South Korea was Asia’s best performer on Friday, rising almost 1%.
The index was affected by an escalate of 1.5% Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (KS:), the largest listed company in the country, after the electronics group reported a 15-fold escalate in profit in the second quarter.
Samsung has benefited greatly from increased demand for memory chips from the AI industry, which has boosted sales and improved margins. Its consumer electronics business has also benefited somewhat from AI integration.
Samsung’s gains spilled over into shares of other chipmakers. Memory chip rivals SK Hynix Inc (KS:) increased by 1.7%.
Japanese stocks test record highs amid feeble yen, BOJ bets
The Japanese and Japanese indices stabilised near record levels on Friday, with the latter briefly hitting record highs.
The recent rally in Japanese markets was driven by a rise in export-oriented stocks amid a weaker currency, while the prospect of confined monetary policy tightening by the Bank of Japan also boosted sentiment.
Household spending data for May on Friday was much weaker than expected, reinforcing views that Japan’s economy remains feeble and will need more monetary support. That in turn bolstered bets that the BOJ has confined room to tighten policy further, maintaining much of the ultra-loose monetary conditions that Japanese markets have enjoyed for nearly a decade.
Japanese technology stocks also saw gains in Samsung. Investment giant SuppleBank Group Corp. (TYO:) rose 0.4% to a record high as a report said the company was seeking enormous volumes of chips from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:)).
Broader Asian markets ranged flat to low. Concerns over China dragged Australia down 0.2%.
Indian stock index futures pointed to a modestly negative open with Indian stocks exposed to profit-taking following a series of record gains in the past week.
