CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday, with Chinese markets leading regional gains as trading resumed after the Golden Week holidays. Renewed hopes of U.S. stimulus coupled with signs of recovery in China's services sector helped underpin investor sentiment.
Chinese shares rose sharply as a private survey showed services sector activity in the country expanded in September. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 54.02 points, or 1.68 percent, to 3,272.08. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 0.31 percent at 24,119.13.
China's service sector registered a strong growth in business activity in September, signaling a further recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, survey data from IHS Markit showed.
The Caixin composite services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 54.8 in September from 54.0 in August, marking the fifth consecutive increase in service sector output. The expansion was underpinned by a sustained rise in total new business.
Markets in South Korea and Taiwan were closed for holidays. Japanese shares finished slightly lower after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the idea of passing a stand-alone bill providing aid to airlines without a broader relief package.
The Nikkei average slid 27.38 points, or 0.12 percent, to 23,619.69, but rose 2.6 percent for the week, posting its largest gain in two months. The broader Topix index closed 0.49 percent lower at 1,647.38.
Sumitomo Realty & Development, Daiichi Sankyo, West Japan Railway Company and Mitsubishi Motors fell 3-4 percent, while Nippon Yusen KK, Daikin Industries, Fast Retailing and Seven & i surged 2-5 percent.
On the economic front, a government report showed that the average of household spending in Japan fell an annual 6.9 percent in August, coming in at 276,360 yen. That was in line with expectations following the 7.6 percent decline in July.
Australian markets fluctuated before finishing marginally higher for the day as the country reported its second straight day without any Covid-19 deaths. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended largely unchanged at 6,102.20, while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 6.70 points, or 0.11 percent, at 6,312.50.
Energy companies Beach Energy, Santos and Oil Search rose between 1.4 percent and 2.5 percent while banks ended on a mixed note.
The value of owner-occupied home loans issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 13.6 percent sequentially in August, official data showed today - matching expectations.
New Zealand shares eked out modest gains to end the week at a record high as another dovish signal from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand helped lift property and retirement stocks.
The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 44.62 points, or 0.36 percent, to 12,280.54. Oceania Healthcare surged 4.8 percent and Summerset Group Holdings jumped 4.5 percent.
U.S. stocks rose overnight to reach their best closing levels in over a month as data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits inched down last week and president Trump said that stimulus talks with Democrats have turned productive.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.4 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained half a percent and the S&P added 0.8 percent.
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