Asia-Pacific markets largely climbed in the final trading day of the week, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index
leading gains in the region and rising 2.9%.
This comes as traders assess to key economic data out of Japan, including the September inflation rate for Tokyo. The capital’s data is seen as a leading indicator of nationwide trends.
Tokyo’s consumer price index rose 2.8% in September from a year ago, softening from the 2.9% gain in August. The core inflation rate, which strips out prices of fresh food, came in at 2.5%, lower than the 2.6% expected by a Reuters poll.
Japan also saw unemployment, industrial output and retail sales data for August.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell marginally, extending losses from Thursday to finish at 31,857.62, while the Topix fell 0.94% and closed at 2,323.29.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.34% to end at 7,048.6, rebounding after a three-day losing streak.
South Korean and mainland Chinese markets are closed for a holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes rallied ahead of the U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index reading due Friday. The PCE reading is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric.
Wall Street is also keeping an eye on Washington, as lawmaker negotiations on a U.S. spending bill continue before a Oct. 1 shutdown deadline for the government..
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.35% The S&P 500 added 0.59%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped about 0.83%.
