Stock market today: Asian shares trade higher after Wall St rally takes S&P 500 near record
TOKYO — Stocks in Asia traded higher on Friday after a rally on Wall Street that lifted the S&P500 back within 1% of its record.
Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and China, as investors focused on the release of April inflation data.
In Japan, the Finance Ministry reported a record current account surplus for the fiscal year through March as strong auto exports narrowed the trade deficit and the country posted solid returns on foreign investments. However, weak consumer spending undermined these positive figures.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 38,229.11, while Australia’s S&The P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 7,761.90. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.8% to 2,733.06.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.1% to 18,918.54, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,160.61.
Price data expected on Saturday will be watched to see if the economy regains strength.
“Despite efforts, China has been struggling with consumer deflation for about a year, posing a huge challenge that Beijing has yet to overcome,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
On Thursday the S&The P500 rose 0.5% to 5,214.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8% to 39,387.76, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3% to 16,346.26.
A report showing an increase in layoffs helped support the market. The number of workers filing for unemployment benefits rose more than economists expected over the past week, although it remains relatively low compared to history.
That could be a sign that the economy can perform the hoped-for balancing act: remaining solid enough to avoid a severe recession, but not so strong that it puts upward pressure on inflation.
Equinix rose 11.5% after reporting stronger earnings for its latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, which operates data centers around the world, also said an independent investigation led by its board of directors found no accounting inconsistencies or errors requiring financial adjustments. Earlier, an investment firm had accused the company of “major accounting manipulation.”
Yeti Holdings rose 12.8% after reporting better-than-expected profit for the latest quarter, thanks to stronger sales of its drinkware, coolers and equipment.
Cheesecake Factory gained 6.2% after beating earnings expectations. The results were encouraging following some recent warnings from major food and beverage companies about the intense pressure their customers, especially those on lower incomes, are feeling.
Airbnb fell 6.9% despite high profit and revenue expectations. It provided a forecast range for current quarter sales, with the midpoint lower than what analysts expected. It said an earlier Easter this year attracted more sales to the first quarter than the second quarter.
On the bond market, the yield on ten-year government bonds fell from 4.50% at the end of Wednesday to 4.45%. The two-year yield, which is more in line with expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.81% from 4.84% late Wednesday.
A smooth auction of 30-year government bonds helped keep interest rates stable.
Treasury yields have largely fallen since Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that the central bank remains closer to cutting its key interest rate than raising it, despite a series of stubbornly high inflation numbers this year. A cooler-than-expected jobs report on Friday, meanwhile, suggested the U.S. economy could manage to avoid getting too hot or too cold.
In energy trading, U.S. crude rose 60 cents to $79.86 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added 54 cents to $84.42 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose from 155.50 yen to 155.53 Japanese yen.
The weak yen is both a boon and a worry for Japan, as it helps boost export earnings but erodes purchasing power. The expectation that the Bank of Japan will increase interest rates is growing, although exactly how much and when remains unclear. The US dollar was trading at the 130 yen level a year ago.
The euro fell from $1.0782 to $1.0776.