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 1.6% to 51,939.89. Shares of Fast Retailing, the fashion company behind Uniqlo, jumped more than 10.6% after its quarterly operating profit surged about 34% year-on-year. It revised its full-year forecasts upward.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 26,231.79, and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.9% to 4,120.43, after official data showed China’s inflation rate picked up in December, rising at 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 78%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell less than 0.1% to 8,717.80. Shares of Rio Tinto fell more than 6.2%, 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 more than 0.8% to 4,586.32.
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.2%, and India’s Sensex lost 0.7%.
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. Credit: AP/Lee Jin-man
U.S. stock futures were mostly flat. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined less than 0.1%.
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 Day” tariffs on Friday, which could lift market sentiment.
On Thursday, defense-industry companies advanced on Wall Street, after President Donald Trump said he wants to hike U.S. military spending to $1.5 trillion in 2027. L3Harris Technologies climbed 5.2%, Lockheed Martin rose 4.3% and Northrop Grumman edged up 2.4%.
Other moves for Wall Street were more modest, after optimism for the start of the year faded slightly on Wednesday. The S&P 500 added less than 0.1% to 6,921.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 0.6% to 49,266.11, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4% to 23,480.02.
A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: AP/Richard Drew
U.S. data released Thursday showed that filings for unemployment benefits rose slightly in the last week of 2025, and had remained historically low and in line with economists’ expectations. But workers productivity picked up in the July-September quarter.
In other dealings early Friday, oil prices gained after a volatile week following Trump’s ouster of the leader of Venezuela. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 48 cents to $58.24 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 52 cents to $62.51.
Supply worries persist. Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in the world and the U.S. has sought to assert control over its oil resources. It seized two more oil tankers this week, including one that sailed under a Russia flag that the U.S. said had evaded a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.61 Japanese yen, up from 156.80 yen.
The euro slipped to $1.1644 from $1.1661.
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