Asian Markets Mixed on Friday as Nikkei Slips on Yen Strength and Hong Kong Tech Stocks Rally

Asian markets showed mixed performances today. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended a three-day winning streak, dropping 0.8% to 39,149, as a stronger yen and profit-taking weighed on sentiment. Semiconductor stocks were mostly lower, while SoftBank rebounded 1.4%. In the auto sector, Nissan rose 2.6% on KKR investment speculation, and Honda gained 2.5% after scrapping a merger plan with Nissan. Sony surged 8.7%, hitting a record high on an earnings upgrade and buyback announcement.

In Hong Kong, stocks rallied across the board, with the Hang Seng Index up 3.69% and the Hang Seng Tech Index soaring 5.56%. Tencent jumped over 7%, and Xiaomi hit a new record high.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.43% to 3,346.72. After the market closed, the PBOC reported a 7% YoY growth in M2 money supply for January, with total social financing increasing by ¥7.06 trillion, ¥583.3 billion higher than the same period last year.