Asian shares are trading mixed on Friday after the Wall Street sank from record heights despite United States’s trade truce with China and profits of Big Tech giants exceeded expectations.Taiwan’s benchmark added 104 points or 0.37% to reach 28,392 at 10:31 AM IST. Japan’s Nikkei led the gains, jumping over 790 points to reach 52,118.Kospi also traded in green, up 25 points at 4,112.In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s HSI fell 232 points reaching 26,050.08. Shanghai and Shenzhen also dropped 0.63% and 0.62%, respectively. Fresh data showed that China’s factory sector shrank again in October, marking the seventh consecutive month of contraction. The official NBS Manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.0, down from September’s 49.8.US futures edged higher on Friday, while oil prices slipped. President Donald Trump praised his Thursday conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, though key disputes between the world’s two largest economies continue to hang over the talks.Global stock markets turned mixed after a closely watched meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies. Trump described his meeting with Xi Jinping as a “12” on a scale of zero to 10 and said he planned to cut tariffs. However, shares had already climbed to record levels on expectations of even bigger progress in easing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Big Tech earnings also struggled under the weight of lofty expectations. Meta Platforms tumbled 11.3%, erasing part of its 28.4% gain earlier in the year and becoming the biggest drag on the S&P 500. In early trading, US benchmark crude slipped 42 cents to $60.15 a barrel, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, also declined 42 cents, to $63.95. On the currency front, the US dollar eased to 153.95 yen from 154.14 yen, and the euro inched up to $1.1573 from $1.1566.
