Asian stocks mostly down early Friday ahead of FOMC week

SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - Asian stocks were mostly lower in early Friday trading as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of next week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which is expected to set the tone for U.S. rate policy in 2025.

In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI rose 0.5 percent to 4,047.41, while the KOSDAQ slipped 0.7 percent to 923.70 as of 10:05 a.m. Samsung Electronics gained 1.9 percent to 107,050 won ($72.8), whereas SK hynix fell 0.7 percent to 538,000 won.

Large-caps were broadly higher. LG Energy Solution, the market’s third-largest stock, advanced 3.1 percent to 422,500 won, and Hyundai Motor jumped 6.4 percent to 301,750 won. Hyundai Motor surpassed its previous intraday record of 299,000 won set on January 11, 2021, extending a four-day rally after Washington confirmed a retroactive reduction in tariffs on Korean auto imports to 15 percent. Samsung Biologics, the fourth-largest by market value, declined 1.4 percent to 1,656,000 won.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4 percent to 50,329.03. Among the country’s three largest firms by market capitalization, Toyota Motor declined 2.3 percent to 3,033 yen ($19.6); Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropped 0.9 percent to 2,492 yen; and Sony Group slid 2 percent to 4,328 yen. As of 10:40 a.m., 39 of the top 40 large-cap stocks were down, with SoftBank Group the sole gainer, rising 1.7 percent to 18,510 yen.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 percent to 3,867.04, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent to 25,787.66.

Lee Jung-woo cannes2030@ajupress.com