Asian stocks drift higher amid rate cut speculation; Japan lags

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Friday as focus turned to the Federal Reserve’s first potential interest rate cut in over four years, with Hong Kong markets leading gains on bargain buying into local technology heavyweights.

Japanese stocks lagged their regional peers after seeing wild swings this week amid soft inflation signals and hawkish comments from the Bank of Japan. A BOJ meeting next week is also in focus. 

Regional markets tracked some overnight gains on Wall Street, where investors looked past sticky inflation prints amid persistent bets on an interest rate cut by the Fed when it meets next week. Steady buying in the technology sector also helped. 

U.S. stock index futures were steady in Asian trade. 

Hong Kong buoyed by tech, Chinese markets flat

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was the best performer in Asia on Friday, extending a rebound into a third session as traders bought into heavily discounted local internet stocks. 

But Chinese markets were much less positive, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rising marginally from more than seven-month lows hit earlier this week.

Sentiment towards China remained strained following a string of middling economic readings from the country for August. The prospect of more U.S. trade restrictions also weighed. 

Japanese stocks lag, BOJ and inflation in focus 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes fell about 0.9% each on Friday, lagging their regional peers. 

Both indexes were set for a muted end to the week after logging wild swings, as investors weighed some soft signals on inflation and hawkish comments from BOJ officials.

BOJ officials warned that the central bank will likely raise interest rates higher in tandem with stronger inflation. But soft producer price index inflation somewhat undermined this messaging.

The BOJ is set to meet next week, although investors are uncertain over another rate hike from the bank. Japanese consumer inflation data is also on tap next week. 

Asian stocks mixed amid speculation over 25, 50 bps cut 

Broader Asian markets were mixed amid speculation over whether the Fed will cut rates by 25 or 50 bps next week. While some strong inflation readings furthered the case for a smaller rate cut, signs of weakness in the labor market saw bets on a 50 bps cut come back into play.

Traders were pricing in a 56% chance for a 25 bps cut, and a 44% chance for a 50 bps cut, CME Fedwatch showed. 

Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.3%, while South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.3%.

Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to a mildly negative open, after the index raced to a record high on Thursday. Indian stocks have outperformed most of their global peers in recent weeks amid persistent optimism over Indian economic growth.