Asian stocks are mostly higher, while Japan's Nikkei falls ahead of weekend election
Asian stocks are mostly higher aside from in Japan, where investors are awaiting the outcome of an election on Sunday
HONG KONG — Asian stocks were mostly higher Friday aside from in Japan, where investors were awaiting the outcome of an election on Sunday.
U.S. futures fell and oil prices rose.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office just weeks ago, called the snap general election to drum up support as the ruling Liberal Democrats grapple with a political funding scandal. Recent upheavals have added to uncertainty for markets, complicating the Bank of Japan's efforts to shift away from long-standing near-zero interest rates.
Core inflation in Japan’s capital was 1.8% in October, lower than the central bank’s 2% target for the first time in five months, the government reported. That reinforced expectations that the central bank will keep its key interest rate unchanged at a policy meeting next week.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1% to 37,771.79, while the Japanese yen rose against the U.S. dollar. Early Friday, the dollar was trading at 151.64 yen, down from 151.89 yen.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.1% to 20,720.60, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.8% to 3,307.14.
China’s central bank kept its medium-term lending rate unchanged at 2%. It also issued 700 billion yuan ($98.3 billion) in one-year medium-term lending facility loans to financial institutions, according to the bank’s statement.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.3% to 2,590.30 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.1% to 8,216.50. Taiwan’s Taiex increased 0.3%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 5,809.86, breaking its first three-day losing streak since early September. It bounced between losses and gains through the day, and
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