Asian shares rose on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight that lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes to record highs after U.S. President Joe Biden embraced a bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal.
Investors have been looking to an infrastructure agreement to extend the recovery in the world's largest economy after massive fiscal stimulus helped the U.S. economy grow at a 6.4% annualized rate in the first quarter. read more
In morning trade, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) climbed 0.58%.
Chinese blue-chips (.CSI300) rose 0.43%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) added 0.61%, Seoul's Kospi (.KS11) was up 0.79% and Australian shares (.AXJO) climbed 0.22%. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) rose 0.59%.
Asian stocks rebounded after falling earlier in the week amid concerns of earlier-than-expected policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve, after it signalled higher rates in 2023 last week.
· China stocks post weekly gain on financials boost
China stocks jumped on Friday to snap three straight weekly losses, powered by gains in heavyweight financial firms.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 1.6% to 5,239.97, while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.2% to 3,607.56.
Financial firms underpinned the market, with the CSI300 financials index jumping 1.7%.
The CSI SWS securities index rose 3.1%, as Guangdong Golden Dragon Development Inc, BOC International China and East Money Information Co Ltd advanced between 7.2% and 10%.
· European shares mixed as investors monitor recovery, tapering fears; Adidas climbs 4%
European stocks were muted on Friday morning as investors monitored the prospect of a steady economic rebound and fears of a tapering of monetary stimulus.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered around the flatline in early trade. Construction and materials added 0.6% while autos fell 0.8%.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
Thai
Eng