An investor watches stock prices on the securities trading floor of Asia Commercial Bank in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Ng Ting Nam | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Friday as investors parsed data from the region’s major economies.
Japan’s April industrial output data showed that industrial output unexpectedly fell 0.1% in April from the previous quarter, lower than the 0.9% growth forecast in a Reuters poll.
Separate data showed that core inflation in the Japanese capital Tokyo rose 1.9% in May, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll.
After seasonally adjustment, South Korea’s industrial production index rose 2.2% quarter-on-quarter in April, exceeding the 1.1% increase expected by a Reuters survey.
China is also preparing to release its official purchasing managers’ index for May.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.23%, while the broader Topix gained nearly 0.7%.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.07%, leading Asian stock markets higher. The smaller-cap Kosdaq rose 0.73%.
In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 Index The index rose 0.78%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures were at 18,041 points, The opening price was lower compared to the Hang Seng Index’s closing price of 18,230.19 points.
Overnight, Wall Street’s major indexes ended lower as investors awaited the release of key U.S. inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 330.06 points, or 0.86%. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq fell 1.08%.
The latest data on the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, will be released on Friday, with prices expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.7% in April, according to Dow Jones estimates.
—CNBC’s Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
About The Author
