Shanghai Shenzhen and Shanghai Composite indexes gained 1% and 0.5%, Hang Seng index added 1.1%, Nikkei 225 index gained nearly 0.7%, KOSPI added 0.6% and ASX 200 gained 0.4%
Asian stocks rose on Friday as technology stocks recovered from Nvidia-induced losses, while month-end bargain buying saw Chinese shares rebound from over six-month lows.
But most Asian markets were still headed for a loss in August, as they struggled to recover from losses clocked at the beginning of the month.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes gained 1% and 0.5%, and were among the better performers for the day, although they were still set to lose between 3% and 4% in August.
Chinese markets benefited chiefly from some month-end bargain buying, as markets were hit by persistent capital outflows through August. They were also by far the worst performers in Asia for the month.
But Hong Kong stocks vastly outperformed their Asian counterparts this month, with the Hang Seng index adding 1.1% on Friday and remaining on track for a 2.6% gain in August.
Strong earnings from several technology giants spurred a wave of bargain buying into the sector through August, with analysts seeing several major Chinese internet names trading at attractive discounts.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes gained nearly 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
Inflation data from Tokyo was marginally higher than expected for August, suggesting that private spending was strengthening further amid higher wages. But industrial production and retail sales data for July missed expectations.
While Japanese stocks did recover from a bulk of their early-August losses, which saw them enter a bear market, the Nikkei and TOPIX were still set to lose more than 1% each in August.
South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.6% on Friday as technology stocks recovered from losses in the earlier session. But an extended rout in the sector, through most of August, put the KOSPI on course for a 3.3% loss this month.
Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.4% and was set for limited losses in August as flows into more economically sensitive sectors- such as banks and miners- benefited Australian markets.
