Asia-Pacific stocks rose on Friday amid concerns about a looming global recession.
As of 9.35 hrs. local time in Thailand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.15%, while mainland Chinese market’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.80%.
Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.83%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.38% higher.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.37%.
According to Reuters, core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.1% in May, in line with expectations. This is higher than the Bank of Japan’s 2% inflation target. Reuters also reported that excluding fresh food and energy, consumer costs increased by only 0.8%.
In response to fears of a recession, U.S. stocks climbed in a late-day rally overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 194.23 points, or 0.64%, to reach 30,677.36. The S&P 500 rose 0.95% to 3,795.99, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.62% to 11,232.19.
In the meantime, oil prices declined overnight, with Brent crude futures falling 2% for the week to US$110.62 a barrel, and benchmark grain prices dropped, with Chicago wheat falling nearly 9% for the week and reaching its lowest level since March at US$9.50 per bushel.
Also, copper prices have dropped to a 16-month low amid rapidly rising interest rates and weak economic indicators have stoked fears of a global recession that will limit metals demand.
Copper has declined by more than 20% since its March record high of US$10,880.
