CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday despite U.S. President Donald Trump announcing a trade deal with China on rare earths and hinting at a major upcoming deal with India. The ceasefire between Iran and Israel continued to hold and weak U.S. data fueled rate cut hopes, helping limit regional losses.
Gold dipped over 1 percent below $3,300 per ounce and the dollar index hovered near its lowest level since March 2022 ahead of the U.S. May Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data due later in the session.
Oil was on track for its worst weekly loss since March as supply concerns eased.
China's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.70 percent to 3,424.23 as new data showed China's industrial profits fell 9.1 percent year on year in the first five months of the year in the face of deepening deflationary pressures and a persistent property crisis.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished 0.17 percent lower at 24,284.15 after a White House official said the United States has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the U.S.
Japanese markets ended at a six-month high amid hopes the U.S. will extend the deadline for reciprocal tariffs.
The Nikkei average jumped 1.43 percent to 40,150.79, marking its highest closing level since December 27. The broader Topix index settled 1.28 percent higher at 2,840.54.
Technology stocks followed their U.S. peers higher, supported by positive news around easing tensions in the Middle East and expectations for Fed rate cuts this year. Tokyo Electron surged 4.3 percent and SoftBank Group rallied 2.5 percent.
Defense-related Kawasaki Heavy Industries soared 6.2 percent on expectations of increased defense spending in the country.
Automakers Honda, Toyota and Nissan all gained around 3 percent, tracking a weaker yen as Tokyo's CPI data for June 2025 revealed a milder inflation trajectory than anticipated.
Seoul stocks fell for a second consecutive session due to profit taking. The Kospi average ended down 0.77 percent at 3,055.94, dragged down by battery and automotive shares. LG Energy Solution lost 3 percent and Hyundai Motor declined 2.2 percent.
Australian markets gave up early gains to end in the red. Banks fell, offsetting gains in the mining sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.43 percent to 8,514.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.34 percent lower at 8,743.60.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index climbed 0.83 percent to close at 12,583.59, marking its second straight session of gains.
U.S. stocks rose overnight as White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt downplayed the importance of July's tariff deal deadlines.
In economic news, sales of durable goods came in well above expectations in May. Jobless claims came in below expectations last week, but continuing claims hit a 2.5-year high.
Revised data showed real U.S. GDP fell at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2025, a downgrade from the previous estimate of a 0.2 percent decline and marking its worst quarterly performance since early 2023.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent to end the day just shy of their record closing highs on Fed rate cut hopes. The narrower Dow advanced 0.9 percent.
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