ASIA STOCKS mostly up as Wall Street snaps losses

Asian stock markets were mildly higher Friday after Wall Street snapped a long losing streak, though a firmer yen and Japan’s tepid August inflation weighed on Tokyo shares.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.3% higher after touching a new five-year high. Signs of economic stabilization in China – Australia’s largest trading partner – have spurred a strong quarter for the Australian market.

Australia’s major banks and heavyweight miners advanced in early trade. Rio Tinto rose 0.5% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 0.3%.

Japanese shares failed to take encouragement from the U.S. session, with the Nikkei trading down 0.2% as a firmer yen kept many buyers at bay. 

Shares of major Japanese exporters were lower with Kyocera down 1.8% and Tokyo Electron off 0.4%.

A lackluster inflation reading also weighed on investor sentiment in Tokyo. Core consumer prices rose 0.8% nationwide in August, slightly stronger than economists predicted, although prices in the capital city of Tokyo recorded a weaker-than-expected increase.

Hong Kong investors were cheered by gains on Wall Street, putting the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 0.3%. China’s Shanghai Composite edged 0.3% higher, shaking off three-straight sessions of losses ahead of the long Golden Week holiday starting Tuesday.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3%, Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.2% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.7%.

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