Hong Kong, Tokyo stocks end higher on Friday

Hong Kong and Tokyo stocks ended higher on Friday.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.95 percent to close at 26,630.54 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index ticked up 0.51 percent to 8,859.49 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.56 percent to 5,137.84 points.

"We've also had some corporate earnings releases in Hong Kong this week -- they've been a bit of a mixed bag -- but one of the standouts is the exchange operator itself, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which reported a record full-year profit for 2025, 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year jump of 36 percent. Last year, of course, was a great year for Chinese companies, particularly trading in Hong Kong. We saw a lot of global investors wanting to increase their exposure in China, and that's clearly reflected in these results. Today we saw HKEX stock up more than half of one percent by the close. It had been trading more strongly earlier in the day but came down off those early gains," said Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Tokyo stocks end higher on Friday, as selling of some technology issues were offset by buying of wide-ranging shares amid hopes for economic-boosting policies.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 96.88 points, or 0.16 percent, from Thursday to 58,850.27. The broader Topix index finished 58.34 points, or 1.50 percent, higher at 3,938.68, also a record high.

"Over in Japan, the Nikkei 225 hit a record high close -- 58,850.27 points -- and locked in a more than 10 percent gain for the month of February. The market was actually pretty tepid today, though. I think some caution as the Nikkei approaches that 60,000-point milestone. It added only 0.2 percent today. While there were some strong gains, we saw AI-linked stocks trade lower after Nvidia's losses on the U.S. markets overnight, but software stocks, actually, which have been feeling like AI victims lately, they were up there on the other end of that stock seesaw," said Pope.

"Other notables in Japan today included Sony stock. It was up more than 7 percent. The company has really increased the scale of its planned share buyback plans, and that's what is causing this. They had been planning a repurchase of around 150-billion-yen worth of stock; now they're saying 250 billion," he said.

Hong Kong, Tokyo stocks end higher on Friday

The European Union is facing the risk of a stagflationary shock as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is driving up energy prices and clouding the economic outlook, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday.

The European Commission's spring 2026 economic forecast, to be released later this week, will see economic growth figures adjusted down and inflation figures up, said Dombrovskis during an interview while attending a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) in Paris.

With the Strait of Hormuz closed and oil prices staying above 100 U.S. dollars per barrel, fears of stagflation have risen in recent weeks, said Dombrovskis, adding that the margin of action by policymakers is "more limited" now.

The commissioner said it's important that the bloc take temporary, targeted support measures rather than measures that sustain high demand for fossil fuels.

Dombrovskis also described the EU's release of strategic oil reserves as "ongoing," while warning of concerns about shortages in areas such as innovative fuels.

The International Energy Agency Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said on Monday that commercial oil stocks are declining "rapidly", with several weeks of supply left due to the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.

Europe could face fuel shortages by the end of this month.

EU at risk of stagflation amid Middle East conflict: commissioner