Asian Markets Mostly Higher

Tokyo: Asian shares traded mostly higher Monday as investors continued to watch economic data and policy moves from President Donald Trump, as both are likely to impact upcoming global central bank moves.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose in early trading after the Cabinet Office reported that the economy grew at a better-than-expected annual rate of 2.8 per cent in October-December, underlined by steady exports and moderate consumption. But the benchmark quickly fell back and then recovered to be little changed, up less than 0.1 per cent in morning trading at 39,164.87. On a quarter-to-quarter basis, the world’s fourth largest economy grew 0.7 per cent for its third straight quarter of growth. Japan marked its fourth straight year of expansion, eking out 0.1 per cent growth last year in seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, which measures the value of a nation’s products and services.

In other regional markets, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6 per cent to 8,503.70. South Korea’s Kospi surged 0.8 per cent to 2,610.91. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.6 per cent to 22,752.20, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2 per cent to 3,352.01. Wall Street ended last week edging back from its all-time high after mixed profit reports from big companies, including Airbnb and Wynn Resorts. The S&P 500 barely budged and slipped by less than 0.1 per cent, a day after rallying within 0.1 per cent of its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 165 points, or 0.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 per cent. The S&P 500 still closed out its first winning week in the last three thanks in part to reports showing companies made even fatter profits at the end of 2024 than analysts expected.