Aerial view of Osaka Skyline
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday as investors assessed China’s May industrial data. The country’s industrial profits fell 9.1% year on year in the first five months of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
That marked the largest monthly decline since October last year, when the industrial profits dropped 10%. Industrial profits are a key measure of the financial health of factories, mines and utilities in China.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed 1.43% to end the day at 40,150.79, after crossing the 40,000 mark for the first time since Jan. 7 earlier in the day. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index advanced 1.28% to 2,840.54.
The country’s capital city of Tokyo saw core consumer price index excluding fresh food and fuel rise 3.1% year on year in June, slower than the 3.6% increase seen in the previous month, and the 3.3% gain penciled by economists polled by Reuters.
In South Korea, the Kospi index ended the day 0.77% lower at 3,055.94, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped by 0.81% to 781.56.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed 0.17% lower at 24,284.15 and mainland China’s CSI 300 index were down 0.61% at 3,921.76.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark ended the day 0.43% lower at 8,514.20.
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 had moved up 0.32% while the BSE Sensex was up 0.29% at 11.15 a.m. Indian Standard Time.
U.S. stock futures moved up at midday Asian hours as investors awaited the release of several data points, including inflation, personal income, consumer spending and consumer sentiment.
Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 rose to within a whisker of a new record high after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt downplayed the impending start of the tariff deals, which have weighed on investor sentiment.
July 8 is when the so-called liberation day tariffs are set to take effect after a 90-day pause, and July 9 is the deadline for an EU deal to avoid 50% tariffs.
“The deadline is not critical,” said Leavitt. “Perhaps it could be extended, but that’s a decision for the president to make.”
The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to close at 6,141.02, bringing its gain on the week to 2.9% and putting it just a few points away from its intraday all-time high of 6,147.43 in late February.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.97% to 20,167.91, also inches away from a new record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 404.41 points, or 0.94%, to 43,386.84.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
