1 of3 A curency trader waks by the screens showing theKorea Composite stock rice index(Kosp,.lef, and the foreign exchangerate betwen Ul.. dolar and south Korean won at aforeign exchange dealing room inseoul, outh Korea,friday, March 8,2024. Asian shares were mostly higher fniday,after u.s.stocks cimbed to records,with easierinterest ratesbeckoning on the horizon.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday, after U.S. stocks climbed to records, with easier interest rates beckoning on the horizon.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.7% in morning trading to 39,874.68. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.9% to 7,829.60. South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.4% to 2,683.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose nearly 1.1% to 16,400.38, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 3,023.74.
Although economic data from the region, such as China, remained relatively positive, investors stayed cautious. Higher interest rates could be in store, for instance, in Japan, once the economy picks up.
“This was driven by reports of (Bank of Japan) officials being more confident of wage growth as labor cash earnings outperformed,” said Tan Boon Heng at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rallied 1% to set its 16th all-time high so far this year. It’s been on a terrific run and is on track for its 17th winning week in the last 19 after erasing the last of its losses from Monday and Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 130 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5% to finish just shy of its record.
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