Asia stocks mixed; Evergrande shares jump following reports it will pay interest due on bond

SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday, as shares of China Evergrande Group surged in Hong Kong following media reports that the embattled developer is set to pay off a coupon payment on a dollar-denominated bond.

Shares of Evergrande in Hong Kong surged 4.26% on Friday. Evergrande Property Services Group also saw its stock jump 1.7%. The Hang Seng Properties index advanced 1.4% to 31,928.03.

The broader Hang Seng index in the city rose 0.42% on the day to 26,126.93. Mainland Chinese stocks closed mixed, with the Shanghai composite falling 0.34% to 3,582.60 while the Shenzhen component climbed 0.332% to 14,492.82.

Chinese media reported Friday that debt-ridden developer China Evergrande Group was preparing to pay the interest on a bond that was due September 23 before the grace period ended on Saturday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.34% to close at 28,804.85 while the Topix index gained about 0.1% to finish the trading day at 2,002.23.

South Korea’s Kospi closed mildly lower at 3,006.16, with shares of Samsung SDI surging nearly 2% following an announcement that the firm will form a joint venture with automaker Stellantis to produce battery cells and modules for North America.

Australian stocks were muted as the S&P/ASX 200 closed flat at 7,415.50.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.26%.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% overnight on Wall Street to a new record close of 4,549.78. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.62% to 15,215.70 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, slipping 6.26 points to 35,603.08.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.62 as it struggles to recover after slipping from above 94 earlier this week.

The Japanese yen traded at 113.90 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 114.4 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.75 after seeing an earlier low of $0.7451.

Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures rising 0.25% to $84.82 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.28% to $82.73 per barrel.

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to the report.