Investing.com - Asian shares mostly gained on Friday as market took a cautious, but upbeat approach ahead of speeches by the Fed and ECB chiefs in Wyoming that could set new tones on monetary policy.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.60%, while the S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.06%. Australia's Qantas Airways reported on Friday its second-highest result in the company's history. The airline's underlying profit before tax rose to AUD1.4 billion ($1.1 billion) for the year ending on Jun. 30.
South Korea's Kospi gaind 0.10%. Samsung Group's de facto head, Jay Y. Lee, will receive a court ruling on bribery charges Friday, according to Reuters. Lee has been charged with bribery, but Samsung companies listed on the Korea exchange largely shrugged off the day's scheduled event: Samsung Heavy rose 4.65% and Samsung SDI gained 0.52%, but Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) edged down 0.34%.
In Greater China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.68% and the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.16%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, as a surge in retail stocks led by Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE:ANF)) failed to inspire a broad based rally as investor focus shifted to monetary policy, after the annual central banking symposium got underway.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 21,783. The S&P 500 closed 0.21% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6271.33, down 0.11%.
U.S. stocks started the session on the front foot, buoyed by a better-than-expected earnings report from Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE:ANF) and data showing the trend of US labor market growth continued.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ended Aug. 19, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That beat economists’ forecasts of a 6,000 rise.
A weaker-than-expected report on existing home sales, however, tapered risk sentiment as the National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in July, to an annualised pace of 5.44m units, down 1.3% from the prior month.
Meanwhile, a slump in energy prices also weighed on sentiment, after crude futures fell 2% on the back of concerns that Hurricane Harvey could disrupt refinery activity, causing crude stockpiles to swell.
On the political front, House speaker Paul Ryan expressed confidence in passing tax reform, saying that Republicans are “eye to eye” with President Donald Trump regarding policy, stoking investor expectations for tax reform.
Investor focus shifted, however, to the annual central banking symposium in Jackson Hole which got underway on Thursday. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will both speak on Friday.