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Asian markets settle mostly higher on Friday
Sep-12-2025
Asian markets settled mostly higher on Friday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight as a relatively tame CPI reading coupled with more signs of jobs cooling spurred expectations for more Federal Reserve rate cuts. Moreover, falling bond yields, easing tariff concerns and extravagant expectations for AI-related earnings growth also supported market sentiments. Japan's Nikkei share average hit a record high with chip-related shares contributing to the rise, after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement that neither country would target currency levels in their policies. Seoul shares soared to a new record high for the third consecutive day followed by a rally of semiconductor shares. However, Chinese shares slipped after a recent string of gains. China's commerce ministry warned of countermeasures after Mexico proposed a 50% import tax on Chinese and Asian cars to protect local jobs.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,870.60

-4.71

-0.12

Hang Seng

26,388.16

301.84

1.16

Jakarta Composite

7,854.06

106.15

1.37

KLSE Composite

1,600.13

17.28

1.09

Nikkei 225

44,768.12

395.62

0.89

Straits Times

4,344.24

-11.58

-0.27

KOSPI Composite

3,395.54

51.34

1.54

Taiwan Weighted

25,474.64

258.93

1.03

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