Asian equities closed lower Friday after recovering from a steeper open plunge, with Japan and South Korea still posting clear losses ahead of the U.S. consumer price index calendar. The Nikkei 225 finished at 64,011.34, down 1,259.61 points, or 1.93%, according to FISCO via Zaikei and Il Sole Radiocor. The Topix closed at 4,028.30, down 0.65%.
South Korea’s Kospi ended at 6,909.91, down 1.76%, after an intraday low near 6,802.50, Businesskorea reported. The Kosdaq fell 1.95% to 820.64. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed about 24,811, down 0.57%, per one Chinese finance wire; The Standard and others put the close at 24,805, down about 0.6%. Both prints show a mild risk-off finish.
Those cash closes are milder than the roughly 3% open plunge stamped earlier Friday and should not be mixed with open levels. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were soft on the Kospi close. The Asia session finished before the U.S. CPI release window.
Sources: FISCO via Zaikei (Nikkei/Topix close); Il Sole Radiocor; Businesskorea (Kospi/Kosdaq); Hang Seng wires (about 24,811 vs 24,805 labeled).
