On Thursday, most Asian stocks experienced mixed movements, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 leading gains due to strength in SoftBank and the technology sector. However, a rebound in Chinese markets appeared to stall after the release of weak inflation data.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the top performer, surging by 1.7% and trading just below a 34-year high. The rally was fueled by the technology sector, particularly the investment conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp., which witnessed a nearly 10% increase. SoftBank is expected to report its earnings for the December quarter, with analysts anticipating its first profit in five quarters.
Other Japanese tech firms, including chip companies Advantest Corp. and Tokyo Electron Ltd., also advanced. Toyota Motor, the automobile giant, rose nearly 4%, reaching a record high for the third consecutive session after strong quarterly earnings.
In contrast, Chinese stocks lagged as a rebound rally appeared to lose momentum. Weak inflation data and losses in Alibaba Group weighed on the market. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.9%, while China’s blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index remained flat. Official data revealed lower-than-expected growth in Chinese consumer inflation for January, and producer inflation continued to contract.
Alibaba Group faced a nearly 6% decline in Hong Kong trade after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings for the December quarter. This contributed to a 1.1% decline in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, making it the worst-performing index in Asia for the day.
Overall, regional stocks took a positive lead from Wall Street, where U.S. benchmarks closed at record highs due to strong earnings. Concerns over prolonged higher interest rates eased, contributing to gains in risk-driven stock markets. However, weak inflation readings in China and disappointing earnings from Alibaba tempered the overall market sentiment in the region.