Asian shares mostly lower as Japan preps massive stimulus

Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Friday after a mixed session on Wall Street, where tech sector losses offset gains in other parts of the market.

Tokyo’s benchmark slipped as the government was preparing about a massive stimulus spending package to help the world’s No. 3 economy cope with inflation. As expected, the Bank of Japan wrapped up a policy meeting by keeping its ultra-lax monetary policy unchanged even as it forecast higher inflation.

The Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% to 27,105.20 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 3.2% to 14,934.69. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.9% to 2,938.77.

The Kospi in Seoul declined 0.8% to 2,269.80. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.9% to 6,785.70.

The economic stimulus package due for approval Friday includes government funding of about 29 trillion yen ($200 billion) in subsidies and other measures to help soften the burden of costs from rising utility rates and food prices. It is also designed to help shore up support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose popularity has taken a beating due to a scandal over ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the South Korea-based Unification church.

Thursday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.6%, with about 44% of stocks within the benchmark index losing ground. It closed at 3,807.30.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.6% to 10,792.67, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 32,033.28.

Smaller company stocks held up better than the broader market. The Russell 2000 index added 0.1% to 1,806.32.

Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms, plummeted 24.6% for the biggest drop in the S&P 500 after reporting a second straight quarter of revenue decline amid falling advertising sales and stiff competition from TikTok. It joined other tech and communications...