Chinese stocks close at three-month high, leading gains in Asia

March 15, 2025 00:00:00

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Friday despite a plunge in all three benchmarks in the US over the previous session amid concern about President Donald Trump's tariff plans, reports CNBC.

Mainland China's CSI 300 led gains in Asia, rising 2.43 per cent to end the day at a three-month high of 4,006.56. This follows stronger movements in the healthcare, consumer cyclicals and non-cyclicals sectors.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.12 per cent to end the day at 23,959.98. Pharmaceuticals company Biologics was the top mover in the index, gaining 13.95 per cent.

Other top performing stocks include BYD, which surged 6.04 per cent, Meituan, which rose 5.71 per cent, and Ping An Insurance, which was up 5.59 per cent.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day 0.72 per cent higher at 37,053.10, while the broader Topix index rose 0.65 per cent to 2,715.85.

South Korea's Kospi index lost 0.28 per cent to close at 2,566.36 while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.59 per cent to 734.26.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the trading day 0.52 per cent higher at 7,789.70.

Indian markets were closed for a public holiday.

The moves in Asia-Pacific come after another escalation in the developing trade war, with Trump threatening to enact 200 per cent tariffs on all alcoholic products coming from the European Union in retaliation for the bloc's 50 per cent tariff on whiskey. Trump on Thursday said, "I'm not going to bend at all" regarding tariffs.

Michael Strobaek, global chief investment officer at private bank Lombard Odier, noted that uncertainties around Trump's policies "means market risk."

"There will be so much for markets to digest, and navigate so many 'unknown unknowns'," he wrote in a Friday note.

He suggested that investors play the market by "filtering out the noise." "The macroeconomic and market fundamentals remain solid, but there will be a lot of uncertainty ahead. In the face of volatility, a high degree of diversification is the prudent portfolio response," Strobaek added.