Asian stock markets close mixed on Friday

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – Major Asian stock markets were mixed at Friday's close amid stronger dollar and hawkish remarks from US Federal Reserve officials.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, fell 1.57% to 2,749.5 points on Friday. On a weekly basis, it fell 2.20%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange dropped 0.43% to 26,890.58. The index was down 0.74% this week.

Japan's core consumer prices surged 3% in September, the sharpest gain in over 31 years, as weaker yen pushed import costs up, government data showed Friday.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, went down by 0.42%, to 16,211.12, while it had a weekly decline of 2.27% on Friday.

The annual inflation rate in Hong Kong soared to 4.5% in September, the highest reading since March 2015.

Hong Kong business confidence indicator ticked down to 4 in the fourth quarter of this year, down from a one-year high of 6 in the previous period.

China's Shanghai stock exchange was on a high note, rising 0.13% from the previous close, to 3,038.93 points on Friday, while it was down 1.08% on a weekly basis.

Indian Sensex benchmark increased 0.18%, to 59,307.15 and Singapore index benchmark lost 1.75%, to 2,969.95.

While Singapore was down 2.29% this week, Sensex rose 2.39%.