© Reuters.
Investing.com – Most Asian stock markets fell on Friday, capping a week marked by weak economic readings and a worsening outlook for the year, even though Japan’s Nikkei index outperformed its peers on a set of solid gains.
The index jumped 0.9% to its highest level since late December, buoyed by strong earnings from Nissan (OTC: Motor Co., Ltd.). %, respectively.
The automakers added to a string of strong Japanese earnings results this week, with surprise strikes from companies like Toyota Motor (NYSE:) Corp (TYO:) and Nintendo Co Ltd (TYO:), while the country’s five largest trading houses posted bumper profits.
But shares of investment giant SoftBank Group Corp (TYO:) sank 3% after the company posted a second straight annual loss.
The strong influx of Japanese earnings shows that the economic headwinds from slowing growth and rising inflation have so far had a limited impact on corporate earnings, indicating that the Japanese economy remains stable.
The Nikkei was also supported by recent signs from the Bank of Japan that it plans to maintain its ultra-cautious monetary policy for the time being.
But Japanese stocks were the outliers on Friday, with most other Asian markets trading lower amid fears of slowing growth in the world’s largest economies.
Indices in China fell 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, as disappointing trade and inflation data this week raised more doubts about a possible post-COVID economic recovery in the country this year.
While Beijing is likely to issue more stimulus measures to support economic growth in the coming months, a series of data released this month showed that the Chinese economy is cooling down after an initial recovery in the first quarter.
Weakness in China also bodes ill for broader Asian economies with higher trade exposure to the country.
Hong Kong fell 0.1% on Friday, while South Korea lost 0.5%.
The Australian index fell 0.2%, dragged down by losses in heavy mining stocks as concerns about China sent metals prices crashing.
Broader Asian markets sank as weaker than expected fueled concerns about a possible recession. But flat inflation data also led markets to backtrack on any potential interest rate cuts by the Fed this year.
With US interest rates now likely to remain high for much longer, any major upside in Asian markets is expected to be limited as investors avoid risky assets.