By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Friday morning, with a rebound in Chinese technology shares giving sentiment a boost. U.S. Treasuries continued to fall, with investors concerned that high inflation could prompt central banks will tighten monetary policy faster than expected.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.06% by 9:47 PM ET (2:47 AM GMT) and South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.63%.
In Australia, the ASX 200 rose 1.10% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.49%.
China’s Shanghai Composite edged down 0.12% while the Shenzhen Component inched down 0.05%.
In the U.S., S&P 500 futures clawed back losses after the index snapped a two-day drop.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield increased as much as three basis points after trading resumed following Thursday’s holiday.
The yield spread between the 5-year and 30-year maturities narrowed, while bonds fell on Wednesday after U.S. data released on the same day indicated that inflation was at its highest level in three decades. October's consumer price index (CPI) grew 6.2% year-on-year and 0.9% month-on-month. The core CPI rose 4.6% year-on-year and 0.6% month-on-month.
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index, a gauge of U.S.-listed Chinese stocks, jumped 5.1%. The index was helped to its biggest gain since Oct. 7 by Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding Ltd.'s (HK:9988) successful Single’s Day shopping festival. Alibaba raised a reported CNY540.3 billion ($84.45 billion).
A report that mobile transportation platform Didi Global Inc. (NYSE:DIDI) is getting ready to relaunch its apps, including its ride-hailing offering, also gave shares a boost.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered the first doctrine on Communist Party history by a Chinese leader in 40 years, as the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee concluded its meeting on Thursday.
Xi will also reportedly meet his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, on Monday to discuss trade and the economic recovery from COVID-19.
Inflationary pressures remain a concern, with global shares set for their first weekly drop since early October 2021. However, some investors were more focused on movements in the bond market and remained cautiously positive on stocks.
“Inflation could remain elevated in the coming months, and each inflation release that comes in above expectations has the potential to cause volatility in rate and equity markets, but we still don’t expect inflation to derail the equity rally,” UBS Global Wealth Management chief investment officer Mark Haefele said in a note.