Asian stocks settle higher in the last trading session before Christmas

Asian equity indexes were mainly higher on Friday, following Wall Street’s optimistic close as investors head to the Christmas holidays.

In South Korea, blue chip companies have risen in the session, pushing the Kospi to the upside. As tensions between Korean and Chinese officials remain in place, THAAD-related stocks continued to trend lower.

In Australia, mining and energy sectors led gains, boosting the S&P/ASX 200. Oil futures settled in green territory on Thursday as market participants following a larger-than-expected reduction in crude stockpiles reported by the US Energy Information Administration.

U.S. stocks finished higher on Thursday after some companies said they would spend the savings stemming from lower corporate taxes on higher wages and new construction.

The Dow Jones industrial average increased 55.64 points to end the session at 24,782.29. The S&P 500 added 0.2 percent to 2,684.57, while the Nasdaq composite was flat at 6,965.36.

The US economy expanded at a 3.2 percent year-over-year rate in the third quarter of this year, data from the Commerce Department showed.

Market analysts had forecasted a 3.3 percent increase in the gross domestic product, above a 3.1 percent seen in the second quarter, which was the fastest build since Q1 2015.

In other news, the Senate approved a stop-gap spending bill that allows the government avoid a shutdown in the upcoming days. This move comes after the passing of a major tax reform meant to reduce taxes for individuals and corporations.

Pres. Donald Trump could sign Republican-backed tax and government funding bills later today.

<<< Next in Europe >>>

Ahead in the day, attention will be directed to the German GfK Consumer Climate index for January, with a 10.8 points reading seen.

Also, market players will be focusing on the releases of UK Q3 business investment, current account and gross domestic product as of 09:30 GMT.

<<< Next in the United States >>>

In the United States, attention will be directed to durable goods orders and personal spending for November as of 13:30 GMT, while Michigan University’s consumer expectations and sentiment will be out at 15:00 GMT. New home sales are up at the same time.

<<< Asian Stock Indexes at 05:30 GMT >>>

Australia ASX S&P                +11.70            +0.19%           6,168.00

Shanghai Composite             +2.69              +0.08%           3,302.75

Hong Kong Hang Seng          +77.39            +0.26%           29,444.45

Japan Nikkei 225                   +30.50            +0.13%           22,896.60

Taiwan TSEC 50 Index          +19.96            +0.19%           10,508.93