Asian Markets Move Mixed, Investors Cautious
Asia-Pacific stock markets are expected to open mixed on Friday, marking a cautious start to the new year. This movement follows the New Year's Eve close of US markets, where the three major Wall Street indexes weakened, although overall they still posted positive performance for 2025.
Several major Asian markets remain closed for the New Year holiday, including Japan and mainland China. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index opened relatively stable with no major movements. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index futures were at 25,648, slightly higher than the last close of 25,630.54, signaling a cautious but positive start.
Investors' attention is also focused on Singapore, which is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data today. Earlier, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong revealed that Singapore's economy grew stronger than expected, expanding 4.8% for 2025. This figure has boosted optimism for the region.
Meanwhile, US stock futures traded higher in early Asian trading. S&P 500 futures rose 0.15%, Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.12%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.16%. Although the major US indexes closed lower on Wednesday, year-to-date performance remained solid. The S&P 500 rose 16.39%, the Nasdaq surged 20.36% on the back of AI euphoria, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded a 12.97% gain throughout 2025. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
