Asian stock markets experienced a generally positive trend on Friday, following a decline in the U.S. stock market as the significant rally post-Trump’s election victory began to lose steam. Meanwhile, U.S. futures and oil prices also declined.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.8%, reaching 38,842.13, largely due to a continuing drop in the yen against the U.S. dollar, which benefitted exporters. Notably, shares of Nissan Motor Co. surged by 4.7% during morning sessions.

Japan’s economy registered a growth rate of 0.9% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2023, surpassing the previous quarter’s growth of 0.5%. This took place even as the Bank of Japan increased its primary interest rate from 0.1% to 0.25% in July. During the October meeting, the BOJ indicated its intention to persist with further rate hikes, potentially aiming for a 1% target in the second half of the upcoming fiscal year beginning in April, contingent upon economic and price conditions evolving as anticipated.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.3%, rising to 19,486.97, while the Shanghai Composite index saw a decline of 0.4% to 3,367.94. A report released by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that China’s retail sales grew by 4.8% year-on-year in October, outperforming expectations. However, industrial output decelerated compared to the previous month, and improvements within the property sector were minimal.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed by 0.7% to reach 8,279.20, and South Korea’s Kospi advanced by 0.2% to 2,407.27.

On the previous day, the S&P 500 saw a decline of 0.6%, closing at 5,949.17, although it remained close to its record high established earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.5% to 43,750.86, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6% to 19,107.65.

Several stocks that gained traction due to Trump’s election saw a decrease in momentum, with Tesla shares falling by 5.8%—marking just its second loss since Election Day. Elon Musk, who leads the company, has aligned closely with Trump.

In addition, smaller companies faced tougher losses compared to the broader market, exemplified by the Russell 2000 index which decreased by 1.4%. This signifies a shift from expectations following the election when it was believed that Trump’s “America First” policy would more positively impact domestically-focused companies compared to large multinationals that could be negatively affected by tariffs and trade conflicts.

Market dynamics were also influenced by fluctuating bond yields in response to the latest economic reports and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The recent decision to cut the main interest rate twice this year to ease economic stress has made investors eager for additional actions.

However, short-term bond yields increased after Powell stated that the current economic conditions do not indicate a need for aggressive rate reductions, citing the economy’s strength allowing for a more cautious approach. The yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 4.35%, up from 4.28% recorded late Wednesday.

Earlier on Thursday, fluctuations in yields occurred after a report revealed a 2.4% year-on-year increase in prices at the wholesale level in October, representing an acceleration from September’s 1.9%, exceeding economists’ expectations. Meanwhile, another report suggested stability in the U.S. job market, indicating that fewer individuals applied for unemployment benefits last week, suggesting that layoffs are not escalating.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury also oscillated before stabilizing at 4.45%. In commodity markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil fell by 62 cents, trading at $68.08 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined by 66 cents to $71.90 per barrel.

In currency exchanges, the U.S. dollar appreciated to 156.32 Japanese yen from 156.23 yen, and the euro increased slightly to $1.0543 from $1.0534.