Market Update
Asian markets were little changed Friday barring mainland Chinese markets which declined after data showed a slowdown in the nation's exports and trade surplus for December.
The Nikkei traded flat. The Shanghai Composite was down half a percent while the Hang Seng edged 0.3% higher. The Sensex was up 0.4% while the All Ordinaries was off 0.1%.
Chinese government data showed December exports rose 4.3% from a year earlier while the trade surplus stood at $25.6 billion, narrowing from November’s five-year high of $33.8 billion.
Shares moved up slightly after the release of the data but fell again.
Earlier this month, Chinese economic data showed a slowing in both manufacturing and services.
Stocks on the Move
Fast Retailing moved up 2.6% in Tokyo after reporting a record high net profit for the first quarter.
Nintendo was up 4.3%. The stock had rallied Thursday following the temporary lifting of a ban on manufacturing and selling video game consoles within China.
In Hong Kong, Standard Chartered PLC fell 1.6% after the bank announced it would be merging its wholesale and consumer banking units in a structural overhaul meant to revive performance after a difficult 2013.
China Mobile edged up 0.4%.
Aluminum Corporation of China was down 1.2% after U.S. aluminum major Alcoa reported results that missed analysts’ estimates.
Infosys was the top gainer in Mumbai, up 3.2% after the company reported results that showed a higher-than-expected net profit and also raised its full year dollar revenue guidance in line with expectations.
Following Infosys’ results, IT peers Wipro and TCS were the other top gainers, up 2.3% and 1.7% each, respectively.
The broader market listed private sector lender IndusInd Bank is due to report results later in the day.
Miners were down in Sydney after spot prices of iron-ore fell to an eight-month low. Index leader BHP Billiton sank 1.2% while Fortescue Metals fell about 3%.