Asian Shares Mixed Amid Rising Chinese Tech Stocks

HONG KONG (AP) — On Friday, Asian shares displayed a mixed performance. While most Asian equities saw declines, Chinese technology stocks experienced a noteworthy rise.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 fell by nearly 0.44% during early trading, landing at 38,893.65. Similarly, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a slight dip of 0.04%, settling at 8,517.20. South Korea’s Kospi also declined by 0.23%, closing at 2,530.79. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased by 1.35%, reaching 31,173.35, and the Shanghai Composite rose by 1.33% to hit 3,314.29.

Chinese technology stocks traded in Hong Kong are on the verge of entering a bull market, fueled by excitement surrounding AI models introduced by DeepSeek that have reignited interest in China’s tech sector.

Some notable price movements included Xiaomi’s stock, which climbed by 5.67% to reach 42.85 Hong Kong dollars. Alibaba’s shares were up by 1.47%, trading at 100 Hong Kong dollars, while Tencent, China’s largest online gaming company, saw an increase of 1.90%, trading at 428.40 Hong Kong dollars.

In Japan, the Nikkei index may be facing more challenges due to a stronger yen. A significant jump in household spending for January has intensified expectations for further interest rate increases from the Bank of Japan, according to Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG. "With both headline and core inflation accelerating in the past two months, there remains a strong case for additional policy actions to address inflationary pressures," Yeap stated.

On Wall Street, different indices reacted variably. The S&P 500 noted a rise of 0.36%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a slight decrease of 0.28%. The Nasdaq composite managed to gain 0.51% on Thursday.

Market participants are also navigating the uncertainties linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. After imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, concerns over a potential global trade conflict have eased somewhat, as Trump has granted both countries a 30-day delay on tariffs, suggesting that tariffs might serve as negotiation tools instead of a permanent policy.

Conversely, Trump has proceeded with implementing 10% tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting a retaliatory response from China that includes tariffs on U.S. coal, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine vehicles. Moreover, China recently initiated an antitrust investigation into Google and placed two additional companies on its unreliable entity list. In energy trading, U.S. crude prices rose by 30 cents to $70.91 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up by 34 cents to $74.63 a barrel.

Turning to currency exchanges, the U.S. dollar appreciated slightly, reaching 151.55 Japanese yen, up from 151.35 yen. The euro traded at $1.0379, down from $1.0383.

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