Friday’s trading in Asia and the Pacific was mostly positive as investors shrugged aside worries about a new banking crisis and put their money into technology stocks.
Investors were also anticipating the release of the U.S. personal consumption expenditure price index later in the day, as this is the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.55% as of 9:28 am Bangkok time, leading regional rallies, while the Hang Seng Tech index was up 2%. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.33% in mainland China.
The Nikkei 225 index in Japan increased by 0.93% as Tokyo’s inflation figure remained below the 4.3% record reached in December. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.64%.
The Kospi in South Korea climbed 0.93%.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased by 7,000 to 198,000 overnight, adding to expectations that the Federal Reserve would ease its tightening drive in response to a weakening labor market.
The S&P 500 gained 0.57% around the session’s midpoint, reaching its highest level since March 7th. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.43 %, while the Nasdaq Composite rose more than 4% for the month.
