MANILA, Philippines (news agencies) — Asian shares were mixed in cautious trading Friday after Wall Street closed at an all-time high with Delta Air Lines kicking off earnings season with a solid outlook for the rest of 2025, spurring an airline stock rally.
Chinese markets were sharply higher. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.6 % to 24,402.41, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.1% to 3,546.50.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged down 0.1% to 39,662.19, while South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.1% to 3,185.15.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 8,583.40. India’s BSE Sensex was flat at 83,190.28.
“Just as the market was catching its breath at new highs—drunk on Nvidia fumes and blissfully ignoring the dollar’s quiet groan—President Trump tugged the rug again. A new act in the tariff opera: 35% duties on Canadian imports, with a sweeping upgrade in blanket tariffs now floating between 15% and 20%,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“Asian equities, initially hopeful, wilted into flat lines as if someone had pulled the plug on the optimism generator. There’s a growing sense now that risk has become radioactive—tradable, but only in hazmat gloves,” he added.
On Thursday, Wall Street added to its recent milestones as the market closed at an all-time high after Delta Air Lines kicked off earnings season with a solid outlook for the second half of the year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, inching past the record it set last week after a better-than-expected June jobs report.
The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.1%, enough of a gain to notch a new high for the second day in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.4% higher.
Delta surged 12%, bringing other airlines along with it, after beating Wall Street’s revenue and profit targets. The Atlanta airline also gave a more optimistic view for the remaining summer travel season than it had just a couple months ago.
The airline and other major U.S. carriers had pulled or slashed their forecasts in the spring, citing macroeconomic uncertainty amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff rollouts, which have consumers feeling uneasy about spending on travel.
Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbed to a new all-time high Thursday, breaking above $113,000.
The token’s price jump came amid bullish momentum across risk assets and coincides with Nvidia’s surge to a $4 trillion valuation. It also comes days before the U.S. Congress’ Crypto Week on July 14, where lawmakers will debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry. In other dealings on Friday, benchmark U.S. crude added 44 cents to $67.01 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 41 cents to $69.05 per barrel. The dollar was trading at 146.95 Japanese yen, up from 146.20 yen. The euro slid to $1,1682 from $1.1704.
—- news agencies Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed to this report.
