Osaka, Japan.
Jiale Tan | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Friday, after the S&P 500 hit record highs on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump called for lower interest rates and cheaper oil prices.
Japan’s core inflation rate rose to a 16-month high at 3% in December, year on year, boosting the case for a rate hike from the Bank of Japan.
The CPI announcement comes ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting today. Market watchers expect the central bank to raise rates its their level in 17 years.
The country’s stock benchmark Nikkei 225 started the day up 0.31%.
South Korea’s Kospi opened 0.62% higher, while the Kosdaq gained 0.07%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.39%.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s central bank eased its monetary policy settings in its Friday meeting in line with market watchers’ expectations given the rise in core inflation levels in December.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 19,801 pointing to a slightly stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 19,700.56. The index had closed down 0.03% on Thursday’s, erasing the gains it had earlier in the week.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks finished higher as the three major indexes rose.
The S&P 500 added 0.53%, notching an all-time intraday high for the second straight session to finish the day at 6,118.71.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 408.34 points, or 0.92%, to 44,565.07, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.22% to 20,053.68. Thursday marked the fourth straight winning session for all three major indexes.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
