In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to 38,842.13, supported by a weaker yen following Donald Trump’s election victory, which boosted exporters’ performance. Nissan shares surged 4.5%.
Japan’s GDP grew by 0.9% in the three months ending in September, an improvement from the 0.5% increase in the previous quarter, despite the Bank of Japan raising its key interest rate to 0.25% from 0.1% in July. The central bank indicated during its October meeting that further rate hikes could reach 1% in the latter half of the next fiscal year, starting in April, if economic conditions align with expectations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.3% to 19,486.97, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,367.94 after the National Bureau of Statistics reported a 4.8% year-on-year increase in October retail sales, exceeding forecasts. However, industrial production growth slowed, and the property sector showed only slight improvements.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.7% to 8,279.20, and South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2% to 2,407.27.
Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.6% to 5,949.17, remaining close to its record high set earlier this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 43,750.86, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6% to 19,107.65.
