Investing.com - Asian stocks traded broadly higher to close the week as traders await the July non-farm payroll report from the U.S. Labor Department due out later Friday.
In Asian trading Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.41% although USD/JPY traded lower after the Bank of Japan said that Japan’s monetary base increased 38% last month following a 36% rise in June. Analysts expected a July increase of 43.2%.
Shares of exporters such as Honda and Sony lead Japanese stocks to the upside.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.58% while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.55%. China’s non-manufacturing PMI data is due out Saturday following mixed government and HSBC readings of manufacturing PMI in the world’s second-largest economy Thursday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 0.9% even after data showed Australia will likely post a budget deficit of AUD30 billion for the current fiscal year, well above the AUD15 billion forecast just eight weeks ago. The deficit for the 2014-15 fiscal year is expected to be AUD24 billion, more than double the initial estimate of AUD10.9 billion.
For the 2015-16 fiscal, the deficit will be AUD5 billion before disappearing the following year. Other data showed the unemployment rate in the world’s 12th-largest economy is expected to be 6.25% this year, an increase of 70,000 jobless compared with prior estimates.
Elsewhere, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that producer price inflation rose just 0.1% in the second quarter compared with a 0.3% increase in the first quarter. Analysts had expected PPI to rise 0.6% last quarter.
New Zealand’s NZSE50 climbed 0.63% while the Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.33%. In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the Institute for Supply Management said its July manufacturing index soared to 55.4% vs. 50.9% in June, good for the best reading since 2011. Economists expected a July reading of 52%. Readings above 50% indicate expansion.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 19,000 last week to 326,000, the lowest level since January 2008. The less volatile four-week moving average dropped by 4,500 to 341,250
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.38% while S&P 500 futures inched up 0.07% a day after the benchmark U.S. index surged 1.25%.
In Asian trading Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.41% although USD/JPY traded lower after the Bank of Japan said that Japan’s monetary base increased 38% last month following a 36% rise in June. Analysts expected a July increase of 43.2%.
Shares of exporters such as Honda and Sony lead Japanese stocks to the upside.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.58% while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.55%. China’s non-manufacturing PMI data is due out Saturday following mixed government and HSBC readings of manufacturing PMI in the world’s second-largest economy Thursday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 0.9% even after data showed Australia will likely post a budget deficit of AUD30 billion for the current fiscal year, well above the AUD15 billion forecast just eight weeks ago. The deficit for the 2014-15 fiscal year is expected to be AUD24 billion, more than double the initial estimate of AUD10.9 billion.
For the 2015-16 fiscal, the deficit will be AUD5 billion before disappearing the following year. Other data showed the unemployment rate in the world’s 12th-largest economy is expected to be 6.25% this year, an increase of 70,000 jobless compared with prior estimates.
Elsewhere, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that producer price inflation rose just 0.1% in the second quarter compared with a 0.3% increase in the first quarter. Analysts had expected PPI to rise 0.6% last quarter.
New Zealand’s NZSE50 climbed 0.63% while the Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.33%. In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the Institute for Supply Management said its July manufacturing index soared to 55.4% vs. 50.9% in June, good for the best reading since 2011. Economists expected a July reading of 52%. Readings above 50% indicate expansion.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 19,000 last week to 326,000, the lowest level since January 2008. The less volatile four-week moving average dropped by 4,500 to 341,250
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.38% while S&P 500 futures inched up 0.07% a day after the benchmark U.S. index surged 1.25%.