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Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise as more data point to U.S. inflation cooling

Jihye Lee
Lim Hui Jie

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Singapore, city skyline and The Merlion, dusk
Walter Bibikow | Stone | Getty Images

Asia-Pacific markets largely rose on Friday, following the moves of Wall Street as the U.S. producer price index signaled further signs of cooling inflation.

The March producer price index, a measure of prices paid by companies and often a leading indicator of consumer inflation, declined by 0.5% month-on-month.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore maintained its monetary policy as its core inflation remains at the highest levels in 14 years. The economy saw a quarterly contraction of 0.7% and a marginal growth of 0.1% year-on-year, advance estimates showed.


Japan's Nikkei 225 led gains in the region and gained 1.2% to finish the day at 28,493.47, and the Topix advanced 0.54% to close at 2,018.72 . In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.51% to end at 7,361.6.

South Korea's Kospi closed 0.38% up at 2,571.49 and the Kosdaq rose 1.07% to end at 903.84 as North Korea released a statement on its latest missile launch into the waters between Korea and Japan.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.27%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to close at 3,338.15 and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.51% to finish at 11,800.09.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes rose, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.33% for its highest close since February. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.99%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.14%.

— CNBC's Sarah Min, Brian Evans contributed to this report

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that Singapore's central bank maintained its monetary policy Friday.

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing shares jump over 9% after company lifts revenue estimates

Shares of Japanese retail giant Fast Retailing jumped over 9% in early trade on Friday, leading gains on the Nikkei 225.

On Thursday, the company reported a 20.4% increase in revenue to 1.47 trillion yen (11.1 billion), as well as a 4.5% rise in net profit to 153.3 billion yen for the six months ending February.

Fast Retailing also lifted its revenue estimates for the full financial year ending August, from 2.65 trillion yen to 2.68 trillion yen.

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— Lim Hui Jie

U.S. dollar index dips to mark to the lowest in nearly a year

The U.S. dollar index fell to roughly a one-year low and traded at 100.8 as more signs of cooling inflation showed overnight, signaling the Federal Reserve may pause its tightening cycle.

The dollar index fell below the 100 mark in April 2022 and traded at 100.6 on April 21, 2022, Refinitiv data showed.

The March producer price index fell by 0.5% month-on-month and its core reading, which strips out food and energy prices, fell 0.1%, against expectations for the reading to rise 0.2%.

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— Jihye Lee

Japan approves plan for nation's first casino in Osaka: Nikkei

Japan's government approved a plan for the country's first casino to open in Osaka, Nikkei reported.

Shares of Orix traded 0.7% higher on Friday, having gained more than 4% in the past five sessions on its joint project with MGM Resorts to build an integrated resort.

Under the plan, the project aims to open a casino, conference center as well as other facilities in 2029 with roughly $13 billion in initial investment, the report said.

The government is slated to approve up to three integrated resort locations in addition to Osaka, and a bid by Nagasaki prefecture is currently under review, the report said.

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— Jihye Lee

Singapore maintains monetary policy; GDP sees quarterly contraction

The Monetary Authority of Singapore kept its monetary policy unchanged on Friday.

In its statement, the central bank said it would "maintain the prevailing rate of appreciation" of its Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate policy band.

The central bank manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings, rather than interest rates.

"There will be no change to its width and the level at which it is centred. This policy stance will continue to reduce imported inflation and help curb domestic cost pressures," MAS said.

The central bank said it expects core inflation in Singapore to maintain elevated in the next few months and progressively ease in the second half of the year.

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said its gross domestic product grew 0.1% in the first quarter of 2023 year-on-year, advance estimates showed.

That's lower than the previous period's growth of 2.1% and also lower than the Reuters poll of economists that had forecast growth of 0.6% compared to a year ago.

Compared to the previous quarter, the economy contracted by 0.7%.

— Jihye Lee

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Singapore economy expected to expand 0.6% year-on-year in first quarter

Singapore's gross domestic product is expected to come in at 0.6% higher year-on-year for the first quarter of 2023, according to economists polled by Reuters.

However, GDP for the first quarter is forecasted to fall 0.2% compared to the previous quarter.

These estimates were lower than the results of the survey of professional forecasters the Monetary Authority of Singapore sent out in February, which forecasted a 1.3% year on year growth in the first quarter.

GDP for the whole of 2023 is expected to grow by 1.9% this year compared to 2022, according to the MAS survey.

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Core PPI fell 0.1% in March, its first negative read since April 2020

Excluding food and energy, the core wholesale prices reading showed a 0.1% decline month over month in March, or its lowest level since April 2020 when the core PPI showed a fall of 0.3%.

— Gina Francolla, Sarah Min

U.S. producer price index unexpectedly falls in March

The producer price index, a gauge of wholesale inflation, fell 0.5% month over month in March — another sign that U.S. inflation may be cooling. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected PPI to remain unchanged from February.

Core PPI, which strips out food and energy prices, fell 0.1%, while economists had forecast a 0.2% increase.

— Fred Imbert

Jobless claims come in higher than expected

Initial claims came in at 239,000 for the week ending April 8, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones were forecasting initial claims to come in at 235,000.

That's a rise from 228,000 claims in the previous week.

— Sarah Min

Ether rises above $2,000 after the Shanghai upgrade

The price of ether climbed above $2,000 Thursday for the first time in eight months, after investors put uncertainty surrounding the long-awaited Shanghai upgrade behind them.

Ether advanced more than 5% to $2,007.55, according to Coin Metrics. Bitcoin gained more than 1% to reclaim the $30,000, after briefly falling below it on Wednesday.

After a two-year lock up period, Ethereum staking withdrawals were enabled by the Shanghai upgrade around 6:30 p.m. ET on April 12.

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