For free, real-time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox, sign up for our breaking news emails
Sign up for our free breaking news emails
Japanese stocks set another record on Friday after U.S. stocks climbed to all-time highs the previous day.
US futures rose slightly and oil prices rose.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 1.9% to end at 39,940.00 in morning trading. In late February, the index surpassed the record of 38,915.87 set at the height of financial euphoria in 1989, before a financial bubble burst and ushered in an era of stalled growth.
Japan's unemployment rate fell to 2.4% in January from a revised 2.5% the previous month, but the purchasing managers' index for manufacturing activity fell to 47.2 in February, pointing to weak demand in domestic and international markets.
A PMI value below 50 means a decrease compared to the previous month.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 16,562.50 and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3% to 3,024.53.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's manufacturing activity contracted for the fifth straight month in February, with a reading of 49.1, while the unofficial Caixin PMI provided a more positive outlook, showing the manufacturing sector expanding for the fourth straight month.
Investors are awaiting measures to revive the economy at China's upcoming National People's Congress next week, where Beijing will announce its annual GDP growth target.
The Korean market is closed for a holiday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 7,745.60, while the SET in Bangkok fell 0.3%.
On Wall Street Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5,096.27, breaking a record set last week. The Nasdaq Composite led the market with a 0.9% gain to 38,996.39, surpassing its all-time high set in 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just below its record set last week after rising 0.1% had risen to 38,996.39.
Bond market yields fell after a closely watched inflation report showed prices across the country rose broadly in line with expectations last month. That calmed worries that had been building on Wall Street that inflation data could show an unpleasant revival. Previous reports showed that prices rose more than expected in January at both the consumer and wholesale levels.
“Although inflation is at its highest in a long time, it may be more of a flash in the pan than the start of something worse,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
Thursday's report kept hopes alive that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates in June. Such a move would ease pressure on the economy and boost investment prices, and the Fed has indicated there could be multiple interest rate cuts this year.
The Fed's key interest rate is at its highest level since 2001 in hopes of curbing inflation by weighing on the economy with more expensive mortgage and credit card payments. Hopes of impending interest rate cuts helped fuel the U.S. stock market's big rally in late October, and the S&P 500 just completed its fourth straight month of success.
However, a rate cut would only occur if the Fed sees further convincing data showing that inflation is moving sustainably toward its 2% target.
Traders recently scaled back their forecasts for when the Fed might begin cutting interest rates. A series of strong economic reports have pushed expectations lower compared to March. On Thursday, another report showed that fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than economists had expected. It's the latest signal of a remarkably resilient labor market.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 24 cents to reach $78.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 33 cents to $82.24 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 150.34 Japanese yen from 149.98 yen. The euro rose from $1.0803 to $1.0810.
Comments are closed.