Market Update
Shares in Asia ended lower Friday, amid concerns inflationary pressures in countries like China and India may lead to central banks tightening monetary policy.
At close, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, India's Sensex and Australia's ASX fell 0.4% to 1.1%. China's Shanghai Composite, however, rose 0.8% while Japanese markets remained shut on a national holiday.
Central banks in China and India meet over the weekend and next week, respectively, and while China may surprise the markets by raising interest rates, the Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to up rates by 25 basis points.
Stocks on the Move
In Hong Kong, property and financial stocks fell amid concerns over policy tightening. China Overseas Land declined 1.2% while Bank of China was off 0.9%.
But gains in metal stocks helped the Shanghai index close higher: Aluminum Corporation of China, Jiangxi Copper and Yunnan Tin climbed 1.6% to 2.1%.
Indian stocks ended the week lower but the defensive pharmaceutical and consumer-durable sectors managed to close in the green.
Hindustan Unilever advanced 2.2% after reports said the company had chalked out various plans to boost sales.
In Sydney, losses in the heavyweight mining sector weighed on the index: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto declined 1% and 1.4%, respectively.