The landmark Taipei 101 building and city skyline seen from the Elephant Mountain Observation Deck in Taipei City on April 14, 2025. (Photo: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP) (Photo: I-Hwa CHENG/AFP via Getty Images)
Chen Yihua | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday, breaking ranks with gains on Wall Street supported by semiconductor and banking stocks.
US semiconductor stocks lead gains Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. also announced another record quarter and said it expects capital spending to increase from $52 billion to $56 billion in 2026.
Asian investors are turning their attention to semiconductor stocks after the US reached a trade deal with Taiwan. As part of the deal, Taiwanese semiconductor companies agreed to invest at least $250 billion in U.S. production capacity in exchange for “mutual” tariff reductions.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average The index fell by 0.41%, widening the decline from Thursday, while the broader TOPIX fell by 0.42%.
Korean Kospi rose 0.3%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.21%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.22%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures stood at 27,150, above the HSI’s closing price of 26,923.62.
U.S. bank stocks also rose after the latest quarterly results. goldman sachs Fourth-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations, rising more than 4%.
morgan stanley The company rose nearly 6% as its wealth management division contributed to fourth-quarter sales and bottom-line growth. Both stocks hit new 52-week highs.
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.60%, the S&P 500 rose 0.26% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.25%.
Strong economic indicators also contributed to the rise. The number of jobless claims for the week ending January 10 was 198,000, lower than the 215,000 expected by economists compiled by Dow Jones.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kai-Lai Han and Sara Ming contributed to this report.
