HONG KONG — Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday following mixed moves on Wall Street, where President Donald Trump’s talk of raising defense spending spurred a rally in military-related shares.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.1% to 51,692,70. Shares of Fast Retailing, the fashion company behind Uniqlo, jumped more than 7% after its quarterly operating profit surged about 34% year-on-year. It revised its full-year forecasts upward.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained less than 0.1% to 26,158.21, and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.3% to 4,095.33, after official data showed China’s inflation rate picked up in December, rising by its fastest pace in almost three years. That suggests an improvement in demand, which tends to push prices higher.
The Chinese artificial intelligence startup MiniMax, whose shares debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday, surged more than 50% in early trading.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell less than 0.1% to 8,715.60. Shares of Rio Tinto fell 6%, after the mining group confirmed that it is in preliminary merger talks with Glencore in a deal that could create the biggest mining company in the world.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.7% to 4,582.95, and Taiwan’s Taiex picked up 0.3%.
Investors are watching for the Labor Department’s Friday release of its monthly job report for December, which could give a more comprehensive look at the U.S. job market. The Supreme Court is also expected to issue a possible ruling on Trump’s far-reaching “Liberation