Defense stocks across Asia climbed Friday as investors continued to monitor ongoing geopolitical tensions, following the U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump’s renewed push to take over Greenland.
Markets in the region traded mixed.
The Nikkei 225 gained back 822.63 points, or 1.6%, to 51,939.89.
Shares of Fast Retailing popped more than 7% after the Japanese operator of Uniqlo said quarterly operating profit jumped about one-third and it raised its full-year forecast.
The company cited strong global sales that helped offset the impact of U.S. tariffs, adding it remained on track for a fifth straight year of profit growth, supported by stronger sales in China and rapid expansion in North America and Europe.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index improved 82.48 points, or 0.3%, to 26,231.79.
Shares of South Korean Hanwha Aerospace surged over 11%. Poongsan jumped more than 6% while Korea Aerospace advanced 4.9%. In Japan, shares of Kawasaki Heavy Industries rose 3.17%, while IHI added 3.32%.
Australian stocks were just below the flatline Friday. Shares of Rio Tinto slid over 6% after the miner announced late Thursday it had entered early-stage buyout talks with Glencore. A successful merger would create a mining giant valued at nearly $207 billion.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai recovered 21.27 points, or 0.5%, to 4,758.92, after its December consumer prices rose 0.8% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.
The reading followed a 0.7% climb in November and matched expectations of economists in a Reuters poll. Factory-gate prices dipped 1.9% in December from a year ago, better than the forecast for a 2% decline.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi acquired 33.95 points, or 0.8%, to 4,586.32.
In Taiwan, the Taiex faded 71.59 points, or 0.2%, to 30,288.96.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index eased 8.55 points, or 0.2%. to 4,739.07.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 20.61 points, or 0.2%, to 13,696.25.
In Australia, the ASX 200 eased back 2.92 points to 8,717.85.
