Shares in Asia gain after mixed Japan data points to easy policy

Investing.com - Shares in Asia gained on Friday as investors eyed continued easy monetary polcies around the globe for the near-term outllo.

The Shanghai Composite gained 0.30% and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.40% at the break after a mixed set of data releases from Tokyo.

In Japan on Friday, the country reported that February national core CPI (excluding perishables but including energy) rose 2.0%, less than the 2.1% year-on-year gain expected, a 21st year-on-year rise but the smallest gain since 1.3% in March 2014.

The unemployment rate came in at 3.5% as expected, down from 3.6% in January, while the job offers to seekers index met its 1.15 expectation (115 job offers for every 100 people looking for work), up from 1.14 in January and posting the highest reading since 1.19 in March 1992.

Household spending fell 2.9%, less than the 3.2% year-on-year decline seen in real terms, but still an 11th consecutive year-on-year drop.

February preliminary retail sales data showed a drop of 1.8% year-on-year, more than the 1.5% decline expected and the second straight year-on-year drop after a 2.0% decline in January.

Overnight, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Utilities, Consumer Services and Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower.

At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.23%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.24%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.27%.

The recent relatively dovish comments from Fed chair Janet Yellen on slower long-term increases for inflation, interest rates and GDP spooked the markets and came as a surprise to many traders. As a result, the precious metal has undergone a furious rally over the last week.

Also on Thursday, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart told CNBC that he would wait until the middle of the year or perhaps even later before raising rates.

Lockhart's comments came after a mix of economic indicators were released this week that could cause the Fed to exercise greater caution.

The U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 21 declined by 9,000 to 282,200. Analysts expected initial jobless claims to fall by 1,000 to 290,000 last week.

One day earlier, however, U.S. durable goods orders dropped by 1.4% for the month of February, marking the sixth straight month that U.S. business investment spending had declined.