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Asian stock markets traded in a narrow range on Friday, with South Korea’s KOSPI leading regional losses as enthusiasm surrounding technology and semiconductor shares faded. Investors also remained cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s closely watched Jackson Hole speech.
Regional markets received modest support from Wall Street, where Nvidia shares rallied following stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. The chipmaker’s performance lifted the Nasdaq, although major U.S. indexes ultimately finished largely flat as investors avoided major positions before Warsh’s remarks.
U.S. stock futures were also subdued during Asian trading. Markets are looking to Warsh for fresh signals on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook, particularly following recent Treasury intervention in the bond market.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell about 1.7%, making it the weakest major Asian index. Semiconductor giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics declined between 1.5% and 2.5%, giving back some of their Nvidia-inspired gains.
Nvidia’s results had strengthened expectations for continued artificial intelligence-driven demand for memory chips. However, concerns over elevated AI and semiconductor valuations remained a drag on sentiment. Recent shareholder return initiatives from SK Hynix and Samsung also provided limited support.
Japanese equities performed better. The Nikkei 225 and TOPIX advanced roughly 0.7% to 0.9% after Tokyo inflation data for August came broadly in line with forecasts and edged higher from the previous month.
Core inflation remained near the Bank of Japan’s 2% annual target. Combined with stronger producer inflation in recent months, the data reinforced market expectations that the BOJ could raise interest rates again.
Chinese markets were mixed, with the CSI 300 slipping 0.1% while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3%. Mainland Chinese equities were nevertheless heading toward a weekly gain of more than 1%, supported partly by positive corporate earnings.
Elsewhere, Australia’s ASX 200 climbed 0.4%, while Singapore’s Straits Times was little changed. Futures linked to India’s Nifty 50 gained around 0.2% as investors awaited further direction from global interest rate expectations.
