Asian Shares Mixed; Japan Leads Losses

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday after three days of gains. Japanese markets led regional losses after government data showed household spending in the country unexpectedly slumped at the fastest pace in nearly two years in October.

Tech stocks came under selling pressure as investors await key U.S. inflation data later in the day for direction ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

A softer dollar helped lift gold prices while crude oil prices were little changed in Asian trading.

China's Shanghai Composite index surged 0.70 percent to 3,902.81 ahead of key data next week including inflation, trade and producer prices. Investors also waited for policy signals from key policy meetings this month. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 0.58 percent at 26,085.08.

Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.05 percent to 50,491.87, with technology stocks pacing the declines. Advantest and Tokyo Electron both fell over 2 percent.

SoftBank Group shares surged nearly 6 percent on news its chip unit, Arm Holdings, plans to set up a chip design facility in South Korea. The broader Topix index settled 1.05 percent lower at 3,362.56.

Seoul stocks rose sharply as automakers surged amid reduced U.S. tariff concerns. Hyundai Motor shares jumped 11.1 percent and Kia Corp added 2.7 percent. The benchmark Kospi index rose 1.78 percent to 4,100.05.

Australian markets eked out modest gains after data showed Australian household spending climbed across all nine categories in October, signaling resilient mortgage demand.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up by 0.19 percent to 8,634.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.22 percent at 8,926.10.

Premier Investments plunged nearly 16 percent after issuing earnings guidance below market expectations. Rio Tinto dropped 1.5 percent after its new CEO pushed a sweeping overhaul aimed at tightening costs.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index slipped 0.23 percent to 13,483.99, extending losses for a second day running.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed as investors braced for next week's interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve.

Treasury yields moved higher after data showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a three-year low in the week ended November 29.

Consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas said that U.S. job cuts bumped past the 1 million threshold for 2025 in November as corporate restructuring, artificial intelligence and tariffs helped pare job rolls.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up by 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 closed 0.1 percent higher to extend gains for a third day while the narrower Dow finished marginally lower.