Asian stock on Friday markets rose ahead of an update on the US jobs market, while the US Federal Reserve weighs whether more rate hikes are needed to cool surging inflation.
Taipei, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced, as US futures and oil prices edged higher.
Investors were looking ahead to monthly US employment numbers for possible signs of weakness that might prompt the Fed to decide it needs to ease off on rate hikes to cool inflation. Other data suggest the economy is slowing, which should reduce pressure for prices to rise.
Photo: AP
“There is likely to be particular focus on the resilience of jobs growth” after an uptick in unemployment claims, ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said in a report.
In Taipei, the TAIEX closed up 333.84 points, or 2.27 percent, at 15,036.04, after moving between 14,802.34 and 15,041.41, while posting a weekly gain of 0.24 percent. Turnover totaled NT$202.78 billion (US$6.77 billion).
The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.19 percent to 3,227.03, losing 0.81 percent weekly, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.14 percent to 20,192.36, gaining 0.23 percent from a week earlier.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.87 percent to 28,175.87 after June labor cash earnings rose 2.2 percent over a year earlier, although forecasters warned that strength was unlikely to last. Half-yearly bonuses are paid in June. The index rose 1.35 percent weekly. The broader TOPIX rose 0.85 percent to 1,947.17, advancing 0.35 percent weekly.
In Seoul, the KOSPI added 0.72 percent to 2,490.80, rising 1.60 percent weekly, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.58 percent to 7,015.60, up 1.01 percent from a week earlier.
India’s SENSEX rose 0.15 percent to 58,387.93, posting a 1.42 percent weekly gain. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point to 5.4 percent on Friday.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that inflation would reach 6.7 percent in the fiscal year ending in March next year, and that the economy would grow at a 7.2 percent annual pace.
New Zealand declined, while Southeast Asian markets rose.
Jakarta’s JSX Composite Index advanced 0.39 percent to 7,084.66 after Indonesia’s economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 5.4 percent over a year earlier in the latest quarter.
Investors worry rate hikes by the Fed and other central banks in Europe and Asia to tame inflation that is running at multidecade highs might derail economic growth.
The Fed has raised its benchmark rate twice by 0.75 percentage points this year, three times its usual margin and the biggest hikes since the early 1990s.
Fed officials have tried to calm fears the US might tip into a recession by pointing to a strong job market as evidence the economy can tolerate higher borrowing costs.
The number of Americans who applied for jobless benefits last week rose by a modest 6,000 from the previous week to 260,000, the US Department of Labor reported on Thursday. First-time applications generally reflect layoffs, but forecasters still see the job market one of the strongest parts of the economy.
Data earlier this week indicated the number of new US job openings being advertised slipped but was still near record highs.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
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