People on bicycles pass the entrance to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) headquarters building in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo on May 2, 2024.
Richard A. Brooks | AFP | Getty Images
Japanese shares led Asian gains on Friday, hitting a four-year high after the latest economic data eased recession fears and Wall Street rebounded overnight.
The Nikkei stock average rose 3.64%, topping 38,000 for the first time since Aug. 1. For the week, the index rose 8.67%, its highest since April 2020, according to FactSet data. Japan's broader Topix rose 2.99% to end at 2,678.6, also its best since 2020, after a 7.86% gain.
In a sentiment boost, U.S. retail sales rose 1% in July, well above Dow Jones's forecast of a 0.3% increase. Weekly jobless claims also fell this week.
“Today's strong data on retail sales and jobless claims are a reminder that the U.S. economy is not collapsing,” Stephanie Ross, chief economist at Wolfe Research, wrote Thursday. “Economic momentum has certainly cooled, but we do not appear to be heading toward an imminent recession.”
In Asia, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose 15.7% in July from a year earlier, after falling 8.8% in June and well above expectations of a 1.2% increase in a Reuters poll.
Total trade increased by 13.7% in July 2024 following a 1.2% increase in June, as both exports and imports increased.
South Korea's KOSPI recovered from a holiday to close 1.99% higher at 2,697.23, while the small-cap KOSDAQ rose 1.22% to close at 786.33.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.34% to close at 7,971.1. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michelle Block said on Friday it was “premature” to think about a rate cut, although the market had brought forward interest rate cut expectations following inflation results in the US and Australia.
She noted inflation remains “too high” and said it is unlikely to return to the upper end of the RBA's target range of 2% to 3% by the end of next year.
“Of course, circumstances may change and the outlook is uncertain, but based on the information the Board currently has, we do not expect to be in a position to reduce interest rates in the near future.”
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.81% in the final hour of trading, while mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.11% to close at 3,345.63, marking a second straight day of gains after hitting a six-month low.
Taiwan and Hong Kong's second-quarter GDP data is due to be released after market hours.
