SINGAPORE — Pieces in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Friday trade after stocks on Wall Street cruised to new record highs overnight.
South Korea’s Kospi led bring ins among major regional markets as it jumped 2.8%.
Shares of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor soared 22.82% get a local media report of a deal between the firm and Cupertino-based tech giant Apple on developing electric instruments and batteries.
Hyundai Motor told CNBC earlier it was still in talks with Apple.
“We understand that Apple is in deliberation with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor. As the discussion is at its early stage, nothing has been indisputable,” Hyundai Motor told CNBC’s Chery Kang in a statement.
However, the automaker later released a subsequent declaration that avoided mentioning Apple, instead citing “diverse companies” that have talked with Hyundai regarding developing autonomous electric vehicles.
Other stocks in South Korea’s auto sector also gained, with Hyundai Mobis upsurge 26.27% while Kia Motors jumped 12.54%.
Elsewhere in Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 1.75% while the Topix formula gained 1%. Japan’s household spending rose 1.1% year-on-year in November, according to government data released Friday. That was luxurious than economists’ median estimate of a 1.5% decrease, according to Reuters.
Shares in Australia advanced, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.44%.
MSCI’s broadest forefinger of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.97% higher.
In coronavirus developments, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga ratified a state of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas on Thursday in a bid to combat a rise in coronavirus infections.
The World Vigour Organization on Thursday warned of a tipping point in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, amid fears over more contagious variants of the virus that have contributed to a surge of infections.
China telecom firms take another hit
Separator Street jumps to new records
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 89.858 after catch sight of an earlier high of 90.027.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.81 per dollar after weakening from levels below 103.2 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar exchanged hands at $0.7764, having seen levels above $0.78 earlier this week.
Oil prices were considerable in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up around 0.3% to $54.55 per barrel. U.S. improper futures also gained 0.39% to $51.03 per barrel.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith and Chery Kang contributed to this come in.