Asia market mixed; SoftBank tumbles, Australia beats jobs forecast

November 13, 2025 (MLN): Asia markets were mixed on Thursday as investors digested fresh U.S. political developments and regional economic data, while Japan’s benchmark indexes advanced and Australia’s shares retreated.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.13%, and the Topix gained 0.62% to reach a record high, showing optimism after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a funding bill into law, officially ending the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, according to CNBC.

SoftBank Group shares extended their slump for a second straight session, tumbling more than 5% after the conglomerate revealed it sold its entire $5.8bn stake in Nvidia in October to finance its growing investment in OpenAI.

In South Korea, the Kospi was largely unchanged, while the Kosdaq rose 0.79%. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.01% after official data showed the October unemployment rate eased to 4.3%, compared to 4.5% in September.

The stronger labor reading lowered expectations for an imminent rate cut, boosting the Australian dollar to 0.6556 against the U.S. dollar.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.66%, while China’s CSI 300 climbed 0.95%. India’s Nifty 50 edged 0.12% lower in early trade.

In the U.S., equity futures ticked lower in early Asian hours following a strong session on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 48,000 for the first time.

The Dow added 326.86 points, or 0.68%, to end at 48,254.82, hitting a fresh intraday record. The S&P 500 was up 0.06% at 6,850.92, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.26% to 23,406.46.

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