Asia shares trade mixed on Friday, tracking an overnight decline on Wall Street amid ongoing tech stock sell-offs and anticipation of Powell's remarks. Meanwhile, Japanese shares had a mixed day. This came after new data showed consumer inflation in Japan remained well above the Bank of Japan's annual target. On the global front, all eyes are now on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium later today for further clues on the US policy outlook. Silver held firm above $38 per ounce on Friday after two consecutive sessions of gains. Gold extended its recent losses to around $3,330 per ounce on Friday. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell 0.10% to below 42,600 on Friday while the Topix added 0.4% to 3,095, with Japanese equities lacking clear direction. The Japanese yen weakened to around 145.5 per dollar on Friday, its lowest level in three weeks, as traders digested the latest inflation data. Japan's core consumer price index rose by 3.1% in July , a slight decrease from June's 3.3% but still higher than the expected 3%. Food prices in Japan rose 7.6% year-on-year in July 2025, accelerating from 7.2% in June and marking the fastest pace since February. Separately, Japan’s Ministry of Finance is preparing to raise its assumed interest rate for long-term government bonds to 2.6% in its fiscal 2026/27 budget requests, marking the highest level in 17 years, Reuters reported, citing the Yomiuri Shimbun on Friday. China ( SHCOMP ) rose 0.66% to above 3,780 on Friday, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.6% to 11,990, with the former touching a fresh decade high as strong fund rotations and retail buying extended the market rally. Sentiment also improved on hopes of fresh stimulus from Beijing after China’s economy slowed in July. Starting in September, the Chinese government will launch a one-year consumer loan subsidy, covering 90% of interest costs, with local authorities funding the rest. Hong Kong ( HSI ) rose 0.25% to 25,191 in early trade on Friday, supported by gains across most sectors. India ( SENSEX ) fell 0.61% to 81,630 in morning trade on Friday, as traders remained cautious ahead of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. The BSE Sensex halted a six-day winning streak that had been supported by optimism over Goods and Services Tax reforms. The Indian rupee held its recent decline to around 87.26 per USD on Friday. India's exports to China surged 20.0% year-on-year to USD 5.8 billion in the first four months of FY 2025-26 (April-July), rebounding sharply from a 4.5% decline during the same period in FY 2024-25. Australia ( AS51 ) fell 0.37% to slip back below the key 9,000 mark, a record high crossed for the first time in the previous session. The Australian dollar was little changed to around $0.642 on Friday, pausing its four-session losing streak, but on track for a 1.3% drop for the week, its second weekly decline. Australia's private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace since April 2022, with the composite PMI rising to 54.9 in August (vs 53.8 in July), driven by robust growth in both manufacturing (52.9 vs. 51.3) and services (55.1 vs. 54.1) sectors. In the U.S. on Thursday, all three major indexes ended lower , the S&P 500 closed 0.4% lower on Thursday, marking its fifth consecutive decline as investors looked ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole. U.S. stock futures ticked up Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks at Jackson Hole for signals on the path of interest rates: Dow +0.02% ; S&P 500 +0.01% ; Nasdaq -0.08% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Japan's core inflation tops forecasts in July, rose 3.1% Y/Y Japan's manufacturing sector shrinks less than expected to 49.9 in August, services growth slows to 52.7 Australia's manufacturing and services sectors show strongest growth in nearly three years PBOC keeps lending rates at record lows for third straight month Japan's economy accelerates by 0.3% in Q2, beating forecasts
