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StreetAccount Summary - Asian Market Recap: Nikkei +1.38%, Hang Seng +0.60%, Shanghai Composite +0.94% as of 04:10 ET

Sep 18 ,2026

  • Synopsis:

    • Asian equities advanced Friday. South Korea and Taiwan outperformed amid memory and semiconductor rally. Greater China advanced too with strength in tech-focused STAR 50 and ChiNext index, as well as Hang Seng Tech. Japan's Nikkei gained as its tech majors posted sharp gains, tracing overnight rally in US. Southeast Asia mostly lower. India trading higher. US futures gaining. Treasuries little changed as 10Y yield at 4.94%. Dollar-yen moving sharply higher following BOJ rate hike and mixed signals from Governor Ueda's press briefing. Both offshore and onshore yuan broke above 6.70 handle to four-year highs. Crude oil lower for third day. Gold and silver picking up gains. Bitcoin rising past $77,900.

    • BOJ took over from the Fed as center of market attention today as it raised interest rates by 25 bp to a 31-year high, as expected in a 7-2 vote. Cited inflation impacts from oil/Middle East, AI demand and weak yen, contributing to cost-passthrough pressures. Reiterated risk of underlying inflation overshooting 2% target. Assessed financial conditions as accommodative following the rate hike with real rates low. Repeated rate hikes will continue in response to economic activity, inflation and financial conditions. Early takeaways from Governor Ueda's press conference was it was less hawkish than many had expected, which may have weighed on yen's movement in the afternoon. Hours before BOJ's decision, data showed Japan core inflation in August slowed for first time in four months, reflecting downward drag from subsidies.

    • Elsewhere there were hawkish-leaning remarks from RBA Governor Bullock, who said upside inflation risks appear to be materializing, and board members need to decide whether cash rate is sufficient to bring inflation to target. Market pricing in 90% chance of a September rate hike following her remarks. Chinese President Xi's US state visit will be key macro event next week with reports saying US will hold off announcing new tariffs on China and other trading partners until after Trump-Xi summit. South Korean President Lee said Seoul will not send troops that will get the country involved in a foreign conflict amid pressure from President Trump.

    • AI trade regained legs with another memory rally as Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660.KS) posted weekly gains. Risk sentiment aided by pullback in yields and stabilization in oil. There was continued focus on AI model safety though stock impact limited and capex outlook seen remaining intact with NVDA CEO Huang forecasting doubling of chip sales net year. Reuters sources said CXMT (688825.CH) prepares to enter flash memory chip market in move to go beyond its core DRAM business. BYD (1211.HK) issued recall more than 183K cars in China over brake-pedal safety risks while its CEO might join President Xi's delegation to Washington.

  • Digest:

    • Notable Gainers:

      • +14.2% 229640.KS (LS Eco Energy): South Korean cable sector trading higher on reports that Gaon Cable to more than double US cable production capacity

      • +5.6% 2344.TT (Winbond Electronics): purchases additional 2.9M shares of Nuvoton for NT$331.8M, raising stake to 49.6%

      • +1.1% 6890.JP (Ferrotec Holdings): to conduct tender offer for all shares of Japan Resistor at ¥1901/share

    • Notable Decliners:

      • -2.5% 9503.JP (The Kansai Electric Power): shuts down reactor at Mihama power plant unit 3 after inspection confirmed water drippage

      • -0.7% 035420.KS (NAVER): decides not to proceed with acquisition of Woowa Brothers

      • -0.6% 17.HK (New World Development): to spin off Shanghai K11 property into SSE-listed REIT

      • -0.6% 293.HK (Cathay Pacific Airways): reports August traffic +4.0% y/y

  • Data:

    • Economic:

      • Japan

        • August nationwide core CPI +1.7% y/y vs consensus +1.8% and +1.8% in prior month

          • CPI excl. fresh food & energy +1.9% y/y vs consensus +2.0% and +1.9% in prior month

          • Overall CPI +1.9% y/y vs consensus +2.0% and revised +1.9% in prior month

      • New Zealand

        • August trade balance (NZ$1,349M) vs revised (NZ$2,118M) in July

          • Exports +15% y/y vs +14% in July

          • Imports +13% y/y vs +28% in July

    • Markets:

      • Nikkei: 882.70 or +1.38% to 65018.95

      • Hang Seng: 146.49 or +0.60% to 24750.78

      • Shanghai Composite: 36.27 or +0.94% to 3911.87

      • Shenzhen Composite: 41.24 or +1.67% to 2512.63

      • ASX200: (1.20) or (0.01%) to 8731.20

      • KOSPI: 178.82 or +2.66% to 6894.23

      • SENSEX: 218.84 or +0.29% to 74533.43

    • Currencies:

      • $-¥: +1.58 or +1.01% to 157.5490

      • $-KRW: +3.74 or +0.27% to 1384.3300

      • A$-$: +0.00 or +0.25% to 0.7127

      • $-INR: +0.01 or +0.01% to 95.8768

      • $-CNY: (0.01) or (0.13%) to 6.6988

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