The upscale shopping district of Ginza in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly climbed Friday as investors assess a slew of economic data from the region.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.48% at the open and the Topix climbed 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.36% while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.34%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.16% at the open.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 23,492, lower than its last close of 23,544.31.
Japan’s core inflation accelerated to 3.5% in April, government data showed Friday, bolstered in part by surging rice prices, as the central bank considers pausing its rate-hike stance to assess the effects of U.S. tariffs.
Investors are also parsing South Korea’s PPI figures for April and New Zealand’s retail sales for the first quarter of the year.
Other economic data are set to be released later in the day, with Singapore slated to report inflation data for April, and Taiwan to publish its industrial output figures.
U.S. stock futures were little changed as investors continue to evaluate the effect of higher U.S. Treasury yields on the economy. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 14 points, or 0.03%. Nasdaq 100 futures were marginally lower, while S&P 500 futures ticked up 0.03%.
Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed mixed as investors grappled with fears of rising rates and worries about a ballooning U.S. deficit. The 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest since 2023 as lawmakers passed a bill that investors fear could worsen the U.S. deficit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.35 points, closing at 41,859.09. The S&P 500 lost 0.04% and ended at 5,842.01, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.28% and settled at 18,925.73.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Yun Li contributed to this report.
