TOKYO — Asian shares advanced Thursday on the back of Wall Street’s climb to a near-record high, as Tokyo’s benchmark surged to its highest level since 1990.
The yen has weakened against the U.S. dollar, boosting export-related shares in a New Year rally that took the benchmark Nikkei 225 JP:NIK up 1.7% in morning trading.
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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HK:HSI added added 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite CN:SHCOMP slipped 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO gained 0.4% and South Korea’s Kospi KR:180721 rose 0.3%.
The South Korean central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged at a policy meeting, as inflation remains above the 3% range.
“Growth conditions are holding up relatively well for now with the recent recovery in semiconductor exports,” Robert Carnell, regional head of research Asia-Pacific at ING, said in a report.
Shares rose Wednesday on Wall Street as traders locked in their final moves ahead of a report Thursday on inflation, which could show whether all the excitement that’s vaulted stocks toward records is warranted.
The S&P 500 SPX rose 0.6% to 4,783.45, just 0.3% below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA added 0.5% to 37,695.73, and the Nasdaq composite COMP climbed 0.8% to 14,969.65.
Price increases have cooled since they peaked in the summer of 2022, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates sharply this year.
Economists expect Thursday’s report to show prices paid by U.S. consumers were 3.2% higher in December than a year earlier, according to FactSet. That would be a slight acceleration from November’s 3.1% inflation rate. But after ignoring the effects of food and fuel prices, which can quickly shift from month to month, economists believe underlying inflation trends likely continued to cool.
The Fed has hinted at possibly cutting interest rates three times this year. Many traders are anticipating double that number of rate cuts, but critics say that’s overly optimistic.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury has already slumped well below its perch above 5% in October on strong hopes for rate cuts. It edged a bit higher Wednesday, up to 4.03% from 4.02% late Tuesday.
Some of Wall Street’s heavier losses Wednesday came from stocks of oil-and-gas companies. Exxon Mobil
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Benchmark U.S. crude CLG24 added 23 cents to $71.60 a barrel early Thursday. It dropped 87 cents to $71.37 on Wednesday. Brent crude BRNH24, the international standard, added 24 cents to $77.04 a barrel.
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