Japan’s Nikkei led gains in Asia-Pacific markets on Friday as investors assessed the country’s December inflation numbers — the last key data before the Bank of Japan’s first monetary policy meeting of 2024.
The world’s third-largest economy saw headline inflation rate hit its lowest level since June 2022, cooling to 2.6% from 2.8% in November.
Japan’s core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — also fell to 2.3% from November’s 2.5%, in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters.
The Bank of Japan kicks off its two-day monetary policy meeting on Jan. 22, and will announce its decision the next day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded after two straight days of losses, climbing 1.58%, while the Topix rose 0.9%.
South Korea’s Kospi also gained 1.11%, and the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.09%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.81%, after three straight days of losses.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index inched up 0.48%, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 fell 0.41%, after rallying late Thursday.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes rebounded, powered by tech companies.
Most notably, Apple gained 3.3% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy, calling for more than 20% upside over the next 12 months. The tech giant had its best day since May 5, 2023.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.54%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.88% to end at just 15.62 points from its closing record of 4,796.56.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite posted the largest gain, jumping 1.35%.
