Asian shares were mixed on Friday as investors awaited a key U.S. inflation report and after gains in technology stocks on Wall Street helped propel the market to another all-time high.
U.S. futures and oil prices slipped.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.2% to 42,744.80 after a slew of data released Friday showed Japan’s factory output slumped in July as higher tariffs hit on exports to the United States. Inflation in Tokyo also slowed to 2.6% year-on-year, while the jobless rate fell to 2.3% in July from 2.5% in June.
“Today’s Japanese data was mixed, with disappointing industrial production threatening third-quarter growth, while a tight labor market points to increased wages and underlying inflation remaining firm,” ING Economics said in a commentary. “We still think October is the most likely timing for a Bank of Japan rate hike.”
In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.7% to 25,179.39, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.2% to 3,849.76. Shares in computer chipmaker Cambricon Technologies shed gains on Friday after soaring 15.7% to 1,587.91 yuan ($222) a day earlier, becoming the priciest stock on Shanghai’s exchange.
“Hyper-growth in China’s tech landscape is starting to feel like a zero-sum cage fight rather than a clean runway. Even Cambricon’s AI chip story, this week’s darling, is now flashing red lights, warning of trading risks after an 8% skid,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.1% to 3,193.05, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,973.30.
Taiwan’s TAIEX was up 0.5% while India’s BSE Sensex fell less than 0.1%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, lifting the benchmark index to its second record high in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed an early slide and gained 0.2%, enough to move past its record high set last Friday.
The Nasdaq composite closed 0.5% higher, finishing just short of its all-time high set two weeks ago.
Gains in the technology and communication services sectors offset losses elsewhere in the market.
Tech giant Nvidia fell 0.8% a day after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street analysts’ forecasts, though the company noted that sales of its artificial intelligence chipsets rose at a slower pace than analysts anticipated.
Traders also had their eye on new government reports on the job market and economy.
The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, the latest sign that employers are holding onto their workers even as the economy has slowed.
The most recent government data suggests hiring has slowed sharply since this spring.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product —- the nation’s output of goods and services — grew at a 3.3% annual pace in the April-June quarter after shrinking 0.5% in the first three months of this year due to the fallout from the Trump administration’s trade wars.
Still, the sluggishness in the job market is a key reason that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled last week that the central bank may cut its key interest rate at its meeting next month.
Friday will bring another update on inflation: the U.S. personal consumption expenditures index. Economists expect it to show that inflation remained at about 2.6% in July, compared with a year ago. Businesses have been warning investors and consumers about higher costs and prices because of tariffs.
In other dealings on Friday, U.S. benchmark crude lost 43 cents to $64.17 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, slid 41 cents to $67.57 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 146.98 Japanese yen from 146.95 yen. The euro fell to $1.1662 from $1.1684. ___ AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed.