Asia-Pacific markets trade mostly higher on Friday following an upbeat session on Wall Street overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would push for lower interest rates and cheaper oil prices, and the Bank of Japan raised its key lending rate. However, caution ahead of the Fed’s interest rate decision and official PMI data in China, set to be released next week, limited the gains. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell 0.1% to 39,999, while the broader Topix Index gained 0.4% to 2,760 on Friday. The Japanese yen strengthened toward 155 per dollar on Friday after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.5%, in line with expectations . On the data front, Japan’s core inflation rate surged to a 16-month high of 3% in December , reinforcing the rationale behind the rate hike. Meanwhile, manufacturing activity contracted for the seventh straight month in January, while services sector growth hit a four-month high . China ( SHCOMP ) rose 0.72% surpassing 3,240, while the Shenzhen Component climbed 0.7% to 10,250 on Friday, building on gains from the previous session as Beijing unveiled new measures to encourage stock market investment. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China held its one-year medium-term lending facility rate steady at 2% during its January fixing. Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump indicated that he would rather reach a deal with China instead of using tariffs following a conversation with President Xi Jinping. Hong Kong ( HSI ) rose 1.98% to 20,041 in Friday morning trade, halting losses from the previous two sessions amid solid gains across sectors. India ( SENSEX ) rose 0.54% to 76,813 in the Friday morning session, gaining for the third straight session, supported by tech and consumer durables stocks. Additionally, preliminary data pressured sentiment, as the private sector in India grew the least in two years in January 2025. The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI rose to 58 in January 2025, up from 56.4 in December and above the expected 56.7, preliminary estimates showed. Australia ( AS51 ) rose 0.36% to close at 8,409 on Friday, recovering from the previous session's losses and tracking gains on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 hit all-time highs. Domestically, data showed that business activity in Australia remained in expansionary territory in January, with services activity growing and manufacturing activity stabilizing. Traders are now focused on next week’s quarterly inflation report, which could strengthen expectations for a February interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. In the U.S., on Thursday, all three major indexes ended higher after remarks from President Trump calling for lower interest rates, lower oil prices and offering no clarity on tariffs during his speech at the World Economic Forum. U.S. stock futures drifted flat to slightly negative on Friday after the S&P 500 reached new record highs in the previous session: Dow -0.07% ; S&P 500 -0.08% ; Nasdaq -0.11% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Japan’s core inflation rate surges to 16-month high of 3% in December Bank of Japan raises policy rate to 0.5%, highest since 2008 amid sustained inflation and rising wages Japan's manufacturing PMI contracts in Jan, services sector growth hits four-month high Trump says he’s thinking of imposing 10% tariffs on China in February With Chinese stocks under scrutiny as Trump takes office, here are SA's top 10
