By Doris Yu
Investing.com – Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly up on Friday morning although investors were worried about the economic outlook led by disappointing technology earnings.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.29% by 10:21 PM ET (2:21 AM GMT). Japan's core consumer inflation remained above the central bank's 2% target for a third straight month in June, as the economy faced pressure from high global raw material prices
South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.49%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.09%. Treasurer of Australia Jim Chalmers said on Friday that Australia will double the fees for foreign investors looking to buy assets in the country.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.64%.
China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.53% while the Shenzhen Component inched up 0.08%. China fined ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc more than $1.2 billion over data security violations.
Social media platform Snap Inc 's (NYSE:SNAP) shares tumbled about 27% as advertising demand slumped, which highlighted concerns over the broader economic slowdown and inflationary pressures.
Also on investors’ radar are rising US jobless claims, a dimming regional factory outlook, and a weaker leading economic indicator amid tightening monetary policy.
A drop in the dollar in recent days suggested less fear in markets. However, high inflation and rapidly rising interest rates are still weighing on the market.
“I would point out that we have a lot of earnings to come next week, we have the Fed meeting next week,” Susquehanna International Group derivatives strategist Chris Murphy told Bloomberg. “I don’t necessarily think we’re totally out of the woods yet.”
Elsewhere, the European Central Bank hiked interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, warning that inflation is spreading, worsened by a weakening euro.
U.S. President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and is experiencing mild symptoms.