Asian Shares Climb On US Growth Optimism

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks advanced on Friday as encouraging U.S. data on inflation and retail sales allayed recession fears in the world's largest economy but prompted traders to push back expectations for aggressive rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The dollar and U.S. Treasury yields held broadly steady in Asian trade on growing optimism that the U.S. economy is headed for a soft landing.

Gold was marginally lower but was on track for a weekly gain on optimism that the Fed will ease the interest rate by at least 25 points in September.

Likewise, oil prices dipped but were poised for a weekly gain on renewed enthusiasm about the U.S. economic outlook and amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally higher at 2,879.43 after a choppy session. Hong Kong's tech-heavy Hang Seng index rallied 1.88 percent to 17,430.16.

Japanese markets rallied as the yen gave back some of its recent gains and growth fears faded.

The Nikkei average jumped 3.64 percent to 38,062.67, logging its second-largest daily gain for the year and posting its best weekly gain in more than four years. The broader Topix index settled 2.99 percent higher at 2,678.60.

Index heavyweight Fast Retailing surged 6.2 percent and electrical component maker Fujikura soared 11.4 percent while tech stocks such as Advantest and Tokyo Electron jumped 5-7 percent.

Seoul stocks posted strong gains, with the Kospi average rising 1.99 percent to 2,697.23 led by technology stocks.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 3.9 percent and SK Hynix soared 7 percent as U.S. economic slowdown fears eased. Automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 5.8 percent and Kia Corp added 3.5 percent.

Australian markets notched their sixth straight session of gains, with miners leading the surge on optimism about the U.S. economy. BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group rose 2-3 percent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended 1.34 percent higher at 7,971.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index climbed 1.31 percent to 8,189.90.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index edged up 0.14 percent to 12,727.75.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight while two-year Treasury yield rose by the most in four months as strong retail sales data and lower-than-expected weekly jobless claims helped ease fears of a looming recession. Strong earnings reports from retailer Walmart and tech giant Cisco also boosted investor sentiment.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.3 percent and the S&P 500 rallied 1.6 percent to post their best six-day gain since November 2022. The Dow gained 1.4 percent to end higher for the fifth time in the last six trading sessions.