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Asia markets rise as S&P 500 hits new 2023 high, China's producer price index falls

Jihye Lee
Lim Hui Jie

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

A vegetables stall in the Haizhu area of Guangzhou, China, in May 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher after the S&P 500 closed at a new high for 2023 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a third straight day of gains.

Investors digested China's consumer price index, which saw a 0.2% rise in May and its producer prices that fell 4.6% year on year, marking the steepest drop since May 2016.

Mainland Chinese markets were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.55% and closing at 3,231.4, almost recouping all its losses this week.

The Shenzhen Component was 0.66% higher and closed at 10,793.93, extending its rally off its seven month low on Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.87% in its final hour of trade.


In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 1.97% after two straight days of losses, leading gains in the region and closing at 32,265. The Topix gained 1.5% to end the day at 2,224.32, also hovering near three decade highs.

South Korea's Kospi rose 1.16% to end at 2,641.16, its highest level since June 2022, and the Kosdaq moved up 0.87% to end at 883.71.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.32% and ended at 7,122.5, snapping a three day losing streak.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes climbed higher, with the Nasdaq Composite leading gains and advancing 1.02%, while the S&P 500 was 0.62% higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%.

A key focus for next week would be the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting on June 13 and 14, especially after jobless claims increased more than expected to their highest since October 2021, a potential sign that the labor market is softening up after more than a year of interest rate hikes.

— CNBC's Hakyung Kim and Darla Mercado contributed to this report

Retail and industrial stocks lead Nikkei rebound on Friday

Retail and industrial stocks powered the Nikkei 225 to a 1.97% gain on Friday, leading gains among major indexes in the Asia-Pacific region.

The top gainer on the index was video game company Konami, which climbed 5.79%. Konami is known for creating the Metal Gear and Silent Hill series of games.

Other names on the top gainers list were retail giant Fast Retailing, chemicals company Mitsui and Co, and Daikin Industries, the world's largest air conditioner manufacturer.

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— Lim Hui Jie

CBA sees 50% chance of Australia entering a 'per capita recession' this year

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia recently downgraded its growth forecasts on the Australian economy, predicting a 50% likelihood of the economy entering a per-capita recession in 2023, according to a Friday note.

It revised its fourth quarter gross domestic product from 0.9% to 0.7%, saying that its initial forecast was conditional on the Reserve Bank of Australia as already having reached its peak interest rate at 3.85%.

The central bank earlier this week raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.1%, the highest since April 2012.

"We put the odds of a recession in 2023 at 50% as the lagged impact of the RBA's rate increases continues to drain the cash flow of households that carry debt," CBA's Gareth Aird wrote.

"It will almost certainly be confirmed that Australia is in a 'per capita recession' when the national accounts [for the second quarter] are published in early September," Aird wrote.

— Jihye Lee

China's consumer prices rise 0.2%, producer prices fall

China's consumer price index rose 0.2% in May compared to a year ago, government data showed.

Economists surveyed by Reuters expected to see a 0.3% rise, ticking up after marking a two-year low of 0.1% in April. Month-on-month, prices fell 0.2% — economists predicted a 0.1% decline.

China's producer deflation continued in May, with the producer price index dropping 4.6% for the month, a further decline from -3.6% in April and marking the steepest drop since June 2016.

A Reuters poll of economists expected to see a decline of 4.3% in producer prices.

— Jihye Lee

Philippines' trade deficit narrows in April, but both exports and imports tumble

The Philippines' trade deficit in May narrowed to $4.53 billion, down from a $4.93 billion deficit in March.

The country's exports and imports both slid sharply compared to April 2022, with exports falling 20.2% and imports sliding 17.7% year-on-year.

In comparison, March saw a 9.1% fall in exports and 2.7% drop in imports compared to a year ago.

Government data revealed that the commodity group with the highest annual decline in export value in April was electronic products, which dropped by $582.6 million.

Electronic products were also the second highest contributor to the fall in imports, only surpassed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, which fell by $927.86 million.

China still remained as the Philippines top trading partner, contributing to 15.8% of its export value and supplying 23.9% of its imported goods in April.

— Lim Hui Jie

CNBC Pro: Forget Nvidia: Fund manager says buy these two chip giants instead, giving one 30% upside

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But one fund manager told CNBC Pro he would not buy Nvidia right now. He explains why and says he would invest in two other chip giants instead.

He calls one "very cheap" and "a great story at a great valuation," and the other a "keystone in all technology," giving one of them 30% potential upside.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

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Watch these stocks as they signal bullish run in the past five trading sessions

A collection of stocks are trading above their respective 50-day moving average, which is a key level that could signal a bullish turn.

While still falling short of the celebrated "golden cross," a stock's price trading above its 50-day moving average is still a key indicator that more upside could be on the horizon.

CNBC screened for stocks within the S&P 500 using FactSet data. The list includes names like Caterpillar and General Motors as well as finance sector picks Citizens and Truist Financial.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full list here.

— Brian Evans, Nick Wells

Weekly jobless claims show unexpected increase

Initial jobless claims posted an unexpected jump last week, indicating that the labor market could be softening up.

First-time filings for unemployment benefits totaled 261,000 for the week ended June 3, up 28,000 from the previous period and well ahead of the Dow Jones estimate of 235,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

That's the highest weekly level for claims since Oct. 20, 2021.

Continuing claims fell on the week, dropping 37,000 to 1.757 million.

—Jeff Cox

U.S. Treasury yields climb as investors assess interest rate outlook

U.S. Treasurys rose on Thursday as investors prepared for the Federal Reserve's next interest rate policy decision, which is expected on June 14. In a week that is light on the data front, investors reflected on economic reports and comments from central bank officials made since the last Fed meeting.

At 4:14 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was trading more than one basis point higher at 3.7973%. The 2-year Treasury yield was up by over one basis point to 4.565%.