economy news news dispatch
Tokyo stocks opened higher Thursday, extending rallies on Wall Street after cooling US inflation data raised hopes the Federal Reserve will soon end its monetary tightening campaign. news dispatch
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.42 percent, or 134.68 points, at 32,078.61 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.30 percent, or 6.67 points, to 2,228.15.
The US consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.0 percent last month compared to a year earlier, the smallest increase since March 2021 and down from May’s reading as well.
“Slowing inflation should help persuade the Federal Reserve it has raised rates enough, thereby easing funding cost pressure on companies and their shares alike,” Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management, said in a commentary.
Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3 percent to 34,347.43, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.2 percent.
In Asia, the dollar fetched 138.31 yen, against 138.47 yen in New York, where it dropped from 139.51 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.
“The Japanese shares are seen starting with gains following rallies in US stocks,” Monex senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said in a note.
Among major shares, Sony Group was up 2.85 percent at 12,805 yen, Hitachi was up 0.47 percent at 8,753 yen, and SoftBank Group was up 2.23 percent at 7,049 yen.
Toyota was down 0.77 percent at 2,181 yen. Panasonic was off 0.57 percent at 1,647 yen.
kh/sah/cwl
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Hong Kong Shares Rally Out of Blocks
Hong Kong stocks surged at Thursday’s open, tracking a global advance after data showed US inflation slowing more than expected last month, fanning hopes of an end to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
The Hang Seng Index jumped 1.70 percent, or 320.36 points, to 19,181.31.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.21 percent, or 6.57 points, to 3,202.70, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange rose 0.30 percent, or 6.18 points, to 2,036.95.
dan/cwl
© Agence France-Presse. All rights are reserved.
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