Investing.com– Most Asian stocks rose on Friday, buoyed by strength in chipmaking and cyclical stocks, which helped markets weather heightened tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war.
Regional markets took some positive cues from Wall Street, with chipmaking stocks tracking strength in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which hit a record high on Thursday.
But broader tech stocks were rattled by a sharp drop in Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) after U.S. authorities made several recommendations to break up the firm’s alleged monopoly in online search.
U.S. stock index futures were flat in Asian trade, as risk appetite was battered by heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow launched an advanced hypersonic missile on a Ukrainian facility this week and threatened nuclear retaliation for Kyiv’s use of Western-made, long-range missiles.
Most Asian stocks rose past weak risk appetite on Friday, although they were still nursing some losses for the week.
Japanese shares rise past middling economic data
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.2%, while the TOPIX rose 0.8% on gains in tech and cyclical sectors. Both indexes were also headed for mild weekly losses.
Economic readings offered mixed cues on Japan’s economy. Consumer price index inflation data read slightly higher than expected for October, with underlying inflation rising further above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. Sticky inflation is likely to invite more rate hikes by the BOJ, with a meeting scheduled for December.
Japanese business activity underwhelmed, with purchasing managers index data showing manufacturing activity shrank more than expected in November. Services activity also barely expanded during the month.
