SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific equities boosted trading on Friday after overnight gains on Wall Street. Investors will also be awaiting the release of US employment data for May.
Japanese stocks led gains among the region’s major markets, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 1.2% as Fast Retailing shares soared close to 6%. The Topix index rose 0.22%.
Kospi in South Korea was up 0.39%, while S & P / ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.75%.
The broader Asia-Pacific equities index outside Japan traded up 0.51%.
“It is premature, if not incorrect, to suggest that bearish sentiment in the markets may have peaked. We have argued, in our daily and ad hoc publications, that attacks of optimism in a bear market are normal,” Lavanya said. Mizuho Bank economist Venkateswaran wrote in a note Friday.
Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan close on Friday for holidays.
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OPEC + increases production
OPEC and its oil-producing allies agreed on Thursday to increase production in July and August by a larger amount than expected, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine affects world energy markets.
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon on the Asian schedule, and Brent crude oil’s international benchmark futures fell 0.36% to $ 117.19 a barrel. U.S. crude oil futures also fell 0.5% to $ 116.29 per barrel.
The market is “skeptical” about the move by OPEC and its allies, according to Amrita Sen, head of research at Energy Aspects.
“Basically, we’ve moved the needle about 100,000 barrels per day on average in terms of actual production because we don’t have enough spare capacity,” he told CNBC’s Capital Connection on Friday. “Russian production continues to fall, so it just won’t change much.”
Overnight on Wall Street, the top three U.S. indices broke two-day losing streak. The S&P 500 jumped 1.84% to 4,176.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 435.05 points, or 1.33%, to 33,248.28. The high-tech Nasdaq Composite rose 2.69% to 12,316.90.
US employment data for May will be released on Friday at 20:30 HK / SIN. Economists surveyed by the Dow Jones see 328,000 jobs added in May, down 100,000 from April.
Coins
The US dollar index, which tracks the green dollar against a basket of its parents, stood at 101,748 after a volatile week so far that it has seen it fall below 101, 6 to above 102.4.
The Japanese yen was trading at $ 129.84, weaker than the levels below 128 seen against the green dollar earlier this week. The Australian dollar stood at $ 0.7255 after a recent jump below $ 0.721.