Japan stocks lift Asian market higher after US retail data boosts Wall Street

Japanese shares led gains on Asian markets Friday after Wall Street had one of its best days of the year as data showed the U.S. economy holding up better than expectedwith special thanks to the shoppers of the country.

US futures rose as oil prices fell.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed a week of gains, rising 3.6 percent to 38,062.67, recovering from last week’s big sell-off, as higher Bank of Japan interest rates prompted investors who had borrowed in yen and invested in dollar assets to sell their holdings to cover the higher costs of carry trade deals.

The yen weakened against the greenback this week, with the dollar falling slightly to 149.00 yen from 149.27 yen in midday trading, but hovering around 146 yen the week before.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.8% to 17,407.93, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.1% to 2,874.95.

The Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, said in an interview with Chinese state media on Thursday that the country is developing new policies to support economic growth in the second half of the year. These include accelerating improvements to the central banking system and placing more emphasis on the financial technology market.

He also said that the overall cost burden of local government debt has fallen significantly.

Meanwhile, reports from e-commerce giants also caught investors’ attention, with tech giant Alibaba Group Holding seeing revenue growth of 4% in the second quarter. While it missed estimates, the Hong Kong-listed shares still grew 4.7% on Friday.

Another e-commerce company, JD.com, saw its shares rise 8.7% after reporting quarterly profits that beat expectations.

In South Korea, the Kospi rose 2% to close at 2,697.23. Australia’s S&The P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% to 7,971.10.

Thursday is the S&P500 rose 1.6% for its fourth-best day of the year and sixth straight gain as the U.S. stock market rebounds after a few scary weeksThe price is back within 2.2% of last month’s all-time high, after briefly falling nearly 10% below that level.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.3%, as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks outperformed the past month.

Treasury yields also rose in the bond market after the encouraging economic report. One said U.S. shoppers increased their spending at retailers last month much more than economists had expected, while another said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits.

A year ago, such news could have sent stock markets reeling, for fear that it would send prices soaring. inflation higher. But good news for the economy is good news for Wall Street again, especially after a report showed that the U.S. employers have scaled back their hiring policies last month much more than expected.

All in all, the S&The P 500 rose 88.01 points to 5,543.22. The Dow rose 554.67 to 40,563.06 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 401.89 to 17,594.50.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 3.91% from 3.84% Wednesday night after strong economic data. The 2-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.09% from 3.96% Wednesday night.

Traders still largely expect the Federal Reserve lower its key interest rate at the next meeting in September, which would be the first cut since the 2020 COVID crisis.

In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude lost 30 cents to $77.86 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 29 cents to $80.75 a barrel.

The euro cost $1.0983, up from $1.0971.