Source: AFP
Asian markets rose on Friday, supported by Wall Street and eurozone records, as traders shrugged off weak US retail sales and recessions in Britain and Japan.
U.S. and European shares rose on Thursday, with the broad-based S&P 500 up 0.6 percent to finish at an all-time high, along with Paris and Frankfurt.
London shares rose despite official data showing the UK entered recession late last year as high inflation prolonged a cost-of-living crisis.
Japan also entered recession at the end of 2023, according to data released on Thursday, with the Asian nation overtaking Germany as the world’s third-largest economy.
But broad Asian shares were headed for their “fourth straight weekly gain, possibly marking their biggest winning streak in more than a year, unless they experience an unlikely decline” of more than 1 percent on Friday, SPI Asset’s Stephen Innes said Management.
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Despite the woes of the recession and US retail sales falling more than expected in January, Innes said “the regional and global interest rate environment remains supportive for risk markets”.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported a bigger-than-expected drop in retail sales on Thursday, down 0.8 percent after the winter holiday, suggesting consumer sentiment softened.
However, Innes said “the broader data set suggests a contrary narrative: if anything, growth momentum in the US appears to have gained traction early in the year, building on the strong performance seen in 2023.”
Data released on Tuesday showing that the US consumer price index slowed less than expected in January hurt hopes of an early Fed rate cut and sent Asian indexes mostly lower.
However, investors returned to the markets on expectations that borrowing costs will fall later this year.
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Asian markets mostly up, tracking Wall Street’s gains
Friday’s producer price index “will be closely watched by markets and should drive near-term direction for equity and bond markets,” said Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei closed at a new 34-year high, partly supported by Wall Street’s rally, including in technology stocks.
Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Manila, Bangkok and Wellington were all standing.
Jakarta stocks also moved higher on Friday as results from Indonesia’s election commission showed Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto was on course to win the presidential election by a wide margin with more than half the votes counted.
Keys around 0630 GMT
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 percent at 38,487.24 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.5 percent at 16,341.13
Shanghai – Composite: Closed for holidays
EUR/USD: DOWN to $1.0760 from $1.0774 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP to 150.27 yen from 150.24 yen
GBP/USD: UP at $1.2582 from $1.2577
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/8ad8444e69e81473.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/8ad8444e69e81473.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
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Germany overtakes Japan as the third largest economy
Euro/pound: DOWN to 85.52 pence from 85.53 pence
North Sea Brent crude: DOWN 0.1% at $82.81 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1% to $78.12 a barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 38,773.12 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 per cent at 7,597.53 (close)
— Bloomberg News contributed to this story —
Source: AFP