Asian Shares Follow Wall Street Higher Amid Fed Cut Bets

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Friday as rising jobless claims coupled with in-line U.S. consumer price inflation data spurred expectations for more Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Falling bond yields, easing tariff concerns and extravagant expectations for AI-related earnings growth also helped underpin investor sentiment, heading into the weekend.

China's Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.12 percent to 3,870.60 after recent string of gains. Beijing has warned of countermeasures after Mexico proposed 50 percent import tax on Chinese and Asian cars to protect local jobs.

We "hope Mexico will be extremely cautious, and think twice before acting," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement late Thursday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.16 percent to 26,388.16 in line with Wall Street's strong overnight finish.

Japanese markets rose notably after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement that neither country would target currency levels in their policies.

The Nikkei average climbed 0.89 percent to 44,768.12, reaching a record high with chip-related stocks contributing to the rise. Tokyo Electron soared 5.5 percent and Advantest gained 1.8 percent.

Technology investor SoftBank rose 1.82 percent to extent recent gains following Oracle's upbeat AI guidance tied to the $500 billion Stargate program.

Seoul stocks soared to a new record high for the third consecutive day, buoyed by a rally of semiconductor shares. The Kospi average jumped 1.54 percent to 3,395.54, extending gains to a ninth session.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rallied 2.7 percent and its chipmaking rival SK Hynix shot up 7 percent. SK Square, an investment firm for the semiconductor and IT sectors, soared 8.4 percent.

Australian markets closed higher led by financials and resource stocks. Lower oil prices weighed on energy stocks, with Woodside Energy tumbling 3.4 percent and Santos falling 2.2 percent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.68 percent to 8,864.90 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.63 percent at 9,128.70.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended marginally lower at 13,227.90 as a survey showed New Zealand's manufacturing slump returned in August, erasing July's rebound.

The dollar stabilized in Asian trade following Thursday's decline. Gold traded above $3,650 an ounce and was set for its fourth weekly gain amid mounting concerns over a weakening U.S. labor market.

Oil extended overnight losses due to worries over softening U.S. demand and broad oversupply risks.

U.S. stocks surged overnight, with all three major averages closing at record levels, as a relatively tame CPI reading coupled with more signs of jobs cooling cemented expectations for coming cuts to interest rates.

Treasury yields fell as data showed jobless claims jumped last week to the highest level in almost four years, indicating layoff activity may be on the rise.

Separate data revealed the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 2.9 percent in August from 2.7 percent in July, matching expectations as companies continued to push the cost of tariffs on to consumers.

The core CPI, which excludes energy and food costs, came in unchanged from the previous month at 3.1 percent.

The Dow jumped 1.4 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.7 percent.