TOKYO (AP) – Asian stocks were mostly higher on Monday as investors looked forward to earnings reports from the world's top companies and the U.S. consumer price index, a gauge of inflation.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.3% in morning trading to $39,505.33. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 7,798.10. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3% to 2,723.54. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% to 16,856.06, while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed, rising less than 0.1% to 3,071.13.
Market analyst Yep Jun Long said: “Risk sentiment appears to be recovering from previous concerns, but some reservations may remain ahead of this week's release of the main US consumer price index. “The extent of the increase may still be limited to some extent.” I.G.
The US government will release its consumer price report for March later this week.
Wall Street ended last week higher on surprisingly strong U.S. jobs data. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, offsetting most of the day's losses and nearing its all-time high set last week. The benchmark index still posted its first weekly decline in three weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.2%. Technology companies accounted for the lion's share of the rise.
U.S. employers added a staggering 303,000 employees to their payrolls in March, the government reported Friday. A strong job market fueled growth in consumer spending and corporate profits, resulting in strong overall economic growth.
U.S. Treasury yields rose after Friday's jobs report. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 4.40% from 4.31% just before the report was released. The two-year bond yield, which is driven largely by expectations for the Fed, rose to 4.75% from 4.65% just before the report.
The Fed's benchmark interest rate is at its highest level in 20 years, a result of historic interest rate hikes aimed at curbing inflation.
Strong employment and consumer spending have raised concerns that inflation will not easily fall below 3% and move toward the Fed's 2% target interest rate.
All told, the S&P 500 index rose 57.13 points to 5,204.34 on Friday. The Dow rose 307.06 points to 38,904.04, and the Nasdaq rose 199.44 points to 16,248.52.
Analysts also say energy prices have risen recently, hurting economies like Japan, which imports almost all of its oil, despite a reversal early Monday.
Adding to the upward pressure, there are signs of economic recovery in various regions, which will increase energy consumption. Supply concerns and political tensions also tend to push prices higher.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $1.27 to $85.64 per barrel. It was up 0.4% on Friday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell $1.41 to $89.76 per barrel.
In currency trading, the dollar rose slightly from 151.61 yen to 151.70 yen. The euro was at $1.0842, little changed from $1.0841.
