REGIONAL IMPACT
In an early sign that the Middle East conflict is feeding cost pressures into the world’s second-largest economy, China’s factory-gate prices rose for the first time in 3-1/2 years in March, official data showed.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told a cabinet meeting on Friday that Tokyo plans to release 20 days’ worth of oil reserves from May to ensure stable domestic supply.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 vaulted 1.8 per cent, with shares in heavily weighted Fast Retailing climbing to a record high after the Uniqlo owner posted a stronger-than-expected jump in profits on Thursday.
The yen softened 0.2 per cent against the dollar. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.4 per cent to log its best one-week performance in nearly five years, shrugging off a warning from the Bank of Korea that the broadening conflict in the Middle East threatens to derail growth and worsen inflation as it kept its policy interest rate steady on Friday.
“With a new governor arriving in late April, the BOK delivered a carefully calibrated message to leave options open on future policy decisions,” analysts from ING wrote in a research report. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.1 at 98.93.
Data released on Thursday showed weekly jobless claims increased by 16,000 to 219,000 and continuing claims fell by 38,000 to 1.794 million, the lowest level since May 2024.
The Core PCE price index also rose 0.4 per cent for a second straight month, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 3.0 per cent. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond was up 0.4 basis point at 4.295 per cent.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was down 1.0 per cent at US$71,723.34, while ether was 1.3 per cent lower at US$2,185.33.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/asia-markets-stocks-shares-shaky-israel-lebanon-attacks-shake-iran-ceasefire-6048111
