Asian Shares Mixed As Wall St Retreat

Tokyo: Asian shares were mixed Friday after a sharp slide for Walmart helped pull Wall Street off record highs. In Japan, where investors were watching currency swings, the benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.3 per cent in afternoon trading to 38,781.99. A weak yen is a boon for some export-reliant manufacturers in Japan. In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 150.46 Japanese yen from 149.53 yen. The euro cost $1.0495, down from $1.0500.

Japan’s government released the nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food prices, which rose 3.2 per cent in January from the same month last year. The inflation rate is key in the Bank of Japan’s decision on interest rates, and the rate has remained at or above the central bank’s target of 2 per cent inflation. Last month, the Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to 0.5 per cent from 0.25 per cent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3 per cent to 8,296.20, while South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, slipping less than 0.1 per cent to 2,653.63.