Japan’s economy expanded 2.8% on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, exceeding Reuters estimates of 1%. Preliminary government data indicated stronger-than-expected quarter-on-quarter growth as well. The Japanese yen strengthened to trade at 151.5 against the dollar.
Japan’s 5-year government bond yield rose to 1.034%, the highest since October 2008. Japan’s Nikkei 225 marginally closed at 39,174.25, while the Topix index added 0.28% to close at 2,766.9. South Korea’s Kospi increased by 0.75% to 2,610.42, and the small-cap Kosdaq surged 1.61% to 768.48. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.22% to 8,537.1.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.15%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks the 30 biggest technology firms listed in Hong Kong, fell by 0.38%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.21% to close at 3,947.40. Thailand released fourth-quarter GDP data showing its economy grew 3.2% year-on-year, falling short of Reuters expectations of 3.9%. The SET Index fell 1.86%, hitting its lowest level since November 2020.
The Thai baht traded at 33.67 against the greenback.
Japan’s impressive fourth-quarter growth
The Reserve Bank of Australia began its two-day meeting, with an interest rate decision expected on Tuesday.
Central banks in Indonesia and New Zealand will announce their rate decisions on Wednesday. Tencent shares climbed to their highest level since July 2021, gaining 4.25%, as the company’s Weixin messaging app began beta testing Deepseek integration. Tencent confirmed in an email that “Weixin Search uses the Hunyuan large language model to enrich AI search and has started beta testing access to Deepseek.”
Chinese tech stocks were generally in the red after President Xi Jinping’s meeting with top entrepreneurs, including Alibaba’s Jack Ma, sparking unease among investors.
The Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.75%. In the U.S., the three major averages closed mixed on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 165.35 points, or 0.37%, to close at 44,546.08.
The Nasdaq Composite ticked down 0.01% to 6,114.63. The S&P 500 added 0.41% to close at 20,026.77. On a weekly basis, the three major averages logged gains as improved sentiment followed more clarity around U.S. President’s tariff plans and better-than-expected inflation data.
