Stock Market Today: Asian Stocks Rise After Wall Street Nears Record; Markets watch inflation report | Nation & World Business

TOKYO (`) — Asian stocks rose to a near record high on Thursday as Wall Street rose, while Tokyo's benchmark rose to its highest level since 1990.

The yen weakened against the U.S. dollar, boosting export-related stocks in a New Year's rally that lifted the benchmark Nikkei 225 index to 35,027.70, up 1.7% in morning trade.

Toyota Motor Corp. shares rose more than 4%, while Honda Motor Co. rose 3% in morning trading. Sony Group Corp. rose 3.5% and Hitachi rose 4%. Profit-taking is likely to keep the rises in check, analysts said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 16,156.90, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% to 2,867.72.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,501.30. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3% to 2,548.24.

South Korea's central bank left its monetary policy unchanged at a monetary policy meeting as inflation remains above the 3 percent mark.

“Growth conditions are holding up relatively well for now, given the recent recovery in semiconductor exports,” Robert Carnell, Asia-Pacific regional research head at ING, said in a report.

Stocks rose on Wall Street Wednesday as traders mapped out their final moves ahead of an inflation report on Thursday that could show whether all the excitement that has catapulted stocks toward records is justified.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 4,783.45, just 0.3% below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5% to 37,695.73 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% to 14,969.65.

Price increases have cooled since peaking in the summer of 2022, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates significantly this year.

Economists expect Thursday's report to show that prices paid by U.S. consumers were 3.2% higher in December than a year earlier, according to FactSet. That would be a slight acceleration from the 3.1% inflation rate in November. But even ignoring the impact of food and fuel prices, which can change quickly from month to month, economists believe underlying inflation trends have likely cooled further.

The Fed has indicated it may cut interest rates three times this year. Many traders expect interest rate cuts to be twice as high, but critics say that is too optimistic.

The yield on 10-year government bonds has already fallen well below its peak of over 5% in October due to high hopes of interest rate cuts. It rose slightly on Wednesday, to 4.03% from 4.02% late Tuesday.

On Wall Street, Boeing shares stabilized after plunging earlier in the week after one of its planes for Alaska Airlines broke down in flight. It rose 0.9%.

The major companies in the S&P 500 are expected to begin reporting results for the final three months of 2023 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, JPMorgan Chase and UnitedHealth Group will be among the headliners that day.

Analysts expect a half-dozen stocks to account for most of the S&P 500's growth in the latest quarter. However, according to Bank of America strategists, trends are improving somewhat. They say 66% of companies are expected to see earnings growth, up from 64% in the third quarter.

“While risks remain, fundamentals are improving and analysts sound more optimistic than in the summer,” Ohsung Kwon and Savita Subramanian said in a BofA Global Research report.

Some of Wall Street's bigger losses on Wednesday came from stocks of oil and gas companies. Exxon Mobil fell 1% and Devon fell 1.9%.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 23 cents to $71.60 a barrel early Thursday. It fell 87 cents to $71.37 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 24 cents to $77.04 a barrel.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin hovered around $46,000 shortly after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it would allow trading in exchange-traded funds that hold actual Bitcoins rather than just futures contracts associated with them.

The SEC appeared deeply divided over the decision. One commissioner called it an overdue move to give investors the opportunity to express their thoughts on Bitcoin, while another described it as an unsound measure that “has set us on a wayward path that could further undermine investor protection.”

In other foreign exchange trading, the US dollar slipped from 145.62 yen to 145.52 Japanese yen. The euro was at $1.0976, little changed from $1.0975.

` business reporter Stan Choe contributed.

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