Cherry trees in bloom near the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, April 7, 2024.Â
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Japan led gains in Asia-Pacific markets on Friday after stronger-than-expected consumer spending data, and as renewed rate cut hopes by the U.S. Federal Reserve bolster market sentiment.
Japan’s overall household spending in March fell 1.2% year on year, less than the 2.4% expected by a Reuters poll of economists. However, on a month-on-month basis, household spending rose 1.2%, compared with estimates of a 0.3% drop.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.52%, while the broad based Topix was 1.22% higher.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1%, and the small cap Kosdaq gained 0.97%.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 also inched up 0.33%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 18,642, pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 18,537.81. Should the index reach the futures level, it would be its highest in about nine months.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes climbed as fresh weekly jobless claims data came in at the highest level since August, raising expectations that central bankers might cut interest rates at some point this year.
The 30-stock Dow jumped 0.85% to notch its longest win streak since a nine-day run in December. The S&P 500 added 0.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.27%.
â CNBC’s Brian Evans and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
Source Agencies
