Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher Monday, as investors parsed Japan’s fourth-quarter economic growth data, while awaiting a slew of central bank decisions from the region this week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded around the flatline to close at 39,174.25. while the Topix added 0.28% to close at 2,766.9. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.75% to close at 2,610.42 and the small-cap Kosdaq added 1.61% to end the trading day at 768.48.
Japan’s economic expansion in the fourth quarter beat analysts’ expectations for quarter-on-quarter and annualized growth, preliminary government data showed Monday. On an annualized basis, GDP grew 2.8%, exceeding the Reuters estimates of 1%.
The Japanese yen strengthened to trade at 151.5 against the greenback.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.22% to close at 8,537.1.
Tencent shares climbed to the highest level since July 2021, data from LSEG showed, as the company’s Weixin messaging app began beta testing Deepseek integration. Shares of the Chinese tech giant last traded 4.25% higher.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.15%. The Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks the 30 biggest technology firms listed in Hong Kong, fell .38%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.21% to close at 3,947.40.
Thailand released fourth-quarter GDP data, which showed its economy grew 3.2% year-on-year, missing Reuters’ expectations of a 3.9% expansion, data from LSEG showed.
The country’s annual GDP growth for the year came in at 2.5%, according to Reuters.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has kickstarted its two-day meeting which could see an interest rate cut on Tuesday. Indonesia and New Zealand’s central banks are also expected to announce their rate decisions on Wednesday.
In the U.S., the three major averages closed mixed Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 165.35 points, or 0.37%, closing at 44,546.08. The S&P 500 ticked down 0.01% to 6,114.63, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.41% to close at 20,026.77.
On a weekly basis, the three major averages logged gains, as sentiment improved following more certainty around U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, while new inflation data turned out to be more constructive than first expected. Traders also shrugged off data on Friday showing a 0.9% slump in retail sales for January, worse than the 0.2% decline anticipated by Dow Jones.
