Asian stocks ended a tumultuous week on a calm note with most markets advancing after the biggest decline in eight weeks. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose, with Japanese stocks climbing even as the yen strengthened against the dollar. Shares in mainland China were flat, while those in Hong Kong rose. Australia’s ASX 200 dropped a third consecutive day, set for its worst week in more than six months. Indonesian stocks surged after S&P Global Ratings raised the country’s credit rating to investment grade, bringing it in line with the other two main rating companies. The benchmark index climbed 3 percent, hitting a record. Singapore Airlines Ltd. plunged the most since August 2011 after posting a surprise net loss in the fourth quarter, while Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd. jumped as much as 14 percent on plans to buy a nutritional-products business from its parent company. Summary
  • Hang Seng Index +0.2%, HSCEI little changed, Taiex -0.2%, Shanghai Composite Index little changed
  • India’s Sensex Index +0.2%, Nifty 50 Index +0.1%
  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 -0.2%
  • Japan’s Topix +0.3%, Nikkei 225 +0.2%
  • Singapore’s Straits Times Index +0.1%, KLCI +0.1%, SET Index +0.4%, PCOMP +0.1%, Vietnam Stock Index +0.9%