Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finishes week higher despite Friday slip

SINGAPORE — Shares in Hong Kong slipped on Friday but still finished a rollercoaster week more than 4% higher.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index swung between positive and negative territory on Friday, closing 0.41% lower at 21,412.40 but rising 4.17% for the week.

The benchmark index also saw its first positive week in five following days of volatile trading, seeing big losses on Monday and Tuesday before a dramatic turnaround over the next two days.

Shares of Ping An Insurance in Hong Kong jumped 4.79% despite reporting its largest fall in annual profit since 2008.

The city also welcomed its first SPAC on Friday, with Aquila Acquisition making its debut. The company said Thursday it had raised about 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($127.88 million) from the offering.

In mainland China, the Shanghai composite closed 1.12% higher at 3,251.07 while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.315% to 12,328.65.

Japanese stocks closed higher as the Nikkei 225 rose 0.65% to 26,827.43 while the Topix index climbed 0.54% to 1,909.27. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.46%, finishing the trading day at 2,707.02.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia climbed 0.6%, closing at 7,294.40.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped about 0.1%.

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, with the two leaders to discuss topics such as Russia’s war against Ukraine and competition between the two countries, according to the White House.

The Bank of Japan on Friday announced its decision to hold steady on monetary policy. In a largely expected decision, the Japanese central bank kept its interest rate targets unchanged.

Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.28% to $108.01 per barrel. U.S. crude futures jumped 1.64% to $104.67 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 98.126 — still off levels above 99 seen earlier this week.

The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7392, having risen in recent days from levels below $0.721.