Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to 39,583.08, S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.1% to 7,768.00, Kospi rose 0.1% to 2,787.51, Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 17,767.93, while the Shanghai Composite soared 0.9% to 2,971.18
Asian shares rose Friday as traders looked ahead to a key report on inflation that could influence the Fed’s next move on interest rates.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to 39,583.08. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.1% to 7,768.00. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1% to 2,787.51. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 17,767.93, while the Shanghai Composite soared 0.9% to 2,971.18.
In Japan, the government reported industrial production was stronger than forecast in May at 2.8% and the unemployment rate was unchanged from the previous month at 2.6%.
The S&P 500 advanced 4.97 points to 5,482.87. The Dow gained 36.26 points to 39,164.06. The Nasdaq added 53.53 points to end at 17,858.68.
Gains in retailers and communications services firms helped outweigh losses in consumer goods makers, financial stocks and elsewhere in the market. Amazon.com added 2.2% and Meta Platforms gained 1.3%.
Treasury yields dropped in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, dropped to 4.28% from 4.33% late Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury dropped to 4.71% from 4.75%.
The stock market has been listless this week in the lead up to Friday’s release of the next key inflation report from the government. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.
Economists expect the report to show a modest decline in inflation to 2.6% in May, after a 2.7% reading in April. That is down from the personal consumption expenditures’ high of 7.1% in the middle of 2022. Other measures of inflation, including the consumer price index (CPI), have also dropped significantly over the past two years.