Investing.com - APAC shares moved higher on Friday following a mixed session on Wall Street overnight.
By 10:45 AM AEST, the S&P/ASX 200, KOSPI 200, and Nikkei 225 were up by 0.7%, 0.3%, and 0.1%, respectively.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose after new data showed that the US economy remained robust in the second quarter. The blue-chip index gained 81.20 points, or 0.2%.
Conversely, the S&P 500 decreased by 0.5%, marking a near 3% decline over the past three days — the most significant drop since October. The NASDAQ Composite fell by 0.9%, following a 3.6% plunge in the previous session, its largest decline since 2022.
The Russell 2000 index of small companies climbed 1.3%, extending its strong performance.
The market has seen a significant sector rotation over the past month, with technology stocks taking a hit while relatively underperforming sectors surged.
Data released on Thursday revealed that the US economy has remained surprisingly resilient despite higher interest rates. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — the total value of all goods and services produced in the US, adjusted for inflation and seasonality — grew at an annual rate of 2.8% from April through June, according to the Commerce Department. This is a significant increase from the 1.4% pace in the first quarter and far exceeded economists' expectations. Household spending, the primary driver of the US economy, also rose at a faster pace.
Energy companies, financials, and smaller firms, which rely heavily on economic performance, were among the biggest gainers following this report. Over the past 12 trading days, the Russell 2000 has outperformed the S&P 500 by 12.7%, the most significant 12-day outperformance ever recorded.
Some investors viewed Wednesday's market drop as a healthy pullback after months of upward movement. The S&P 500 experienced its first 2% pullback of 2024.
Among individual companies, Ford Motor Company (D:F) plummeted 18%, marking their largest drop since November 2008. The fall was due to vehicle-launch and warranty costs impacting profits and a $1.1 billion loss in its electric vehicle division.
Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI), a notable player in the artificial-intelligence market, fell by 2.2%, marking its ninth consecutive session of losses.
In commodities, Brent crude oil increased by 0.9%, reaching $82.43 per barrel. Gold remained steady at $2,364.50.
Chinese shares ended largely lower, with oil and technology stocks leading the decline. Investor sentiment was dampened by the overnight selloff on Wall Street and disappointing performances across Asia. PetroChina fell by 4.2%, and Cnooc dropped by 4.8%. In contrast, China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp. rose by 2.4%, and East Money Information gained 1.3%. The Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.5% lower at 2,886.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index edged up 0.1%, while the ChiNext Price Index fell 0.4%.
Hong Kong shares also closed lower, dragged down by tech and oil companies. Investors are awaiting more concrete policy measures from the upcoming Politburo meeting. Meituan led the losses at 5.5%, with Lenovo down 3.9%. Cnooc and PetroChina dropped by 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, Haier Smart Home increased by 5.1%, and Xinyi Solar rose by 3.0%. The Hang Seng Index fell by 1.8% to 17,004.97, and the Hang Seng Tech Index declined by 2.0%.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined by 3.3% to 37,869.51, influenced by an overnight drop in major US tech stocks. Japan's benchmark index has entered correction territory, being down more than 10% from its recent peak on July 11. Renesas Electronics fell by 13.6%, Hitachi Ltd. slipped by 9.4%, and SoftBank Group also decreased by 9.4%. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond was down 0.5 basis points at 1.065%.
Indian shares closed slightly lower, impacted by declines in bank and steel stocks. Investors are focused on quarterly earnings reports from major firms. Axis Bank was the Sensex's worst performer, dropping 5.2% after reporting lower first-quarter net profits. ICICI Bank fell by 2.0%, and Tata Steel declined by 1.8%. Conversely, Tata Motors gained 6.2%, and Larsen & Toubro rose by 2.9%. The Sensex edged down by 0.1% to 80,039.80.
In the U.K., stocks rose on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 Index increasing by 0.4% to 8,186.35. Indivior PLC surged by 16%, IG Group Holdings PLC rose by 6.7%, and Unilever (LON:ULVR) PLC gained 6.2%. On the downside, Centrica (LON:CNA) PLC dropped by 9.9%, Centamin PLC fell by 7.7%, and Airtel Africa PLC decreased by 7.0%.
Elsewhere in Europe, markets closed lower. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell by 0.7% to 508.63, Germany's DAX decreased by 0.5% to 18,298.72, and France's CAC 40 dropped by 1.2% to 7,427.02.