AP

Asian shares rise, China trading closed for national holiday

Jun 1, 2022, 11:54 AM | Updated: Jun 2, 2022, 8:56 pm

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March...

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)


              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The Microsoft company logo is displayed at their offices in Sydney, on Feb. 3, 2021. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
            
              A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 3, 2022. Asian shares rose Friday amid mixed signs for investors such as rising energy prices and COVID-19 restrictions easing in China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
            
              A currency trader walks by the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 3, 2022. Asian shares rose Friday amid mixed signs for investors such as rising energy prices and COVID-19 restrictions easing in China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
            
              A currency trader watches computer monitors at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 3, 2022. Asian shares rose Friday amid mixed signs for investors such as rising energy prices and COVID-19 restrictions easing in China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
            
              A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 3, 2022. Asian shares rose Friday amid mixed signs for investors such as rising energy prices and COVID-19 restrictions easing in China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              FILE - The New York Stock Exchange logo adorns a trading post on the floor of the Exchange on March 16, 2022, in New York. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Thursday, June 2, 2022, as weakness in technology companies offsets gains elsewhere in the market. Microsoft weighed down the tech sector with a 3% loss after cutting its financial forecasts for the current quarter, citing unfavorable changes in exchange rates.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
            
              In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Robert Charmak works on the floor, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Stocks were moderately lower in midday trading Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected report on manufacturing showed that it's likely the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raise interest rates to slow down the economy and tame inflation. (Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
            
              In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Robert Charmak works on the floor, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Stocks were moderately lower in midday trading Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected report on manufacturing showed that it's likely the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raise interest rates to slow down the economy and tame inflation. (Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
            
              In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Robert Charmak works on the floor, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Stocks were moderately lower in midday trading Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected report on manufacturing showed that it's likely the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raise interest rates to slow down the economy and tame inflation. (Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
            
              In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Robert Charmak works on the floor, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Stocks were moderately lower in midday trading Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected report on manufacturing showed that it's likely the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raise interest rates to slow down the economy and tame inflation. (Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
            
              A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 2, 2022. Asian shares declined Thursday, echoing a retreat on Wall Street as investors fretted about higher interest rates and rising coronavirus cases in parts of the region. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
            
              A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center, and the exchange rate of South Korean won against the U.S. dollar, right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 2, 2022. Asian shares declined Thursday, echoing a retreat on Wall Street as investors fretted about higher interest rates and rising coronavirus cases in parts of the region. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
            
              Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 2, 2022. Asian shares declined Thursday, echoing a retreat on Wall Street as investors fretted about higher interest rates and rising coronavirus cases in parts of the region. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
            
              Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 2, 2022. Asian shares declined Thursday, echoing a retreat on Wall Street as investors fretted about higher interest rates and rising coronavirus cases in parts of the region. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose Friday amid mixed signs for investors such as rising energy prices and COVID-19 restrictions easing in China.

Trading was closed in China for the Dragon Boat Festival, a national holiday. Benchmarks in the rest of the region edged higher, cheered by a rally overnight on Wall Street.

Market players are closely watching for U.S. non-farm employment data later in the day, as well as a slew of economic data on Japan next week. The OPEC meeting, in which oil-producing nations decided to boost some output, failed to steady energy prices significantly.

“To say the OPEC meeting outcome disappointed expectations would be an understatement,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

Japan and the U.S. signed a revision on the “beef safeguard” mechanism under the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, which will help American beef producers meet Japan’s growing demand for high-quality beef. The deal will reduce the chances Japan’s safeguard duties would be imposed on U.S. beef, both sides said. That happened in early 2021.

“Together, the United States and Japan are demonstrating our commitment to working together on shared priorities to achieve concrete, economically meaningful results for our people,” said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1% in morning trading to 27,712.43. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to 7,226.70, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,668.95.

Stocks on Wall Street overcame a shaky start to close broadly higher Thursday, as the major indexes more than made up for losses earlier in the holiday-shortened week.

The S&P 500 rose 1.8% to 4,176.82, with more than 85% of the stocks in the benchmark index notching gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% to 33,248.28, while the Nasdaq climbed 2.7% to 12,316.90.

Technology stocks, whose lofty values tend to give the broader market a harder push higher or lower, accounted for a big share of Thursday’s rally. Chipmaker Nvidia jumped 6.9% and software maker Adobe rose 5.5%.

Communications stocks, companies that rely on direct consumer spending and some big industrial firms gained ground. Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 5.4%, Expedia Group added 6.3% and Boeing climbed 7.5%.

Small company stocks rose, signaling confidence about economic growth. The Russell 2000 gained 2.3%, to 1,897.67.

Trading has been choppy in recent days as investors remain worried about inflation and the interest rate increases the Federal Reserve is using to fight it. Thursday’s market rally may have been spurred, in part, by a report showing private sector hiring that came in well below economists’ forecasts.

“The private payroll report was pretty weak,” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “It’s maybe one of those environments where people are looking for weak data that gives them some hope that the Fed will pause (rate hikes) in September.”

Rising energy prices have been feeding inflation, which is already at its highest levels in four decades. U.S. gasoline prices hit another record high Thursday, with the average price at the pump costing $4.71 per gallon, according to motoring club federation AAA.

Investors remain focused on the balance between inflation, rising interest rates and economic growth. Several economic reports on Wednesday bolstered expectations for the Fed to keep raising interest rates aggressively. Wall Street is concerned that the Fed could slow economic growth too much and potentially send the economy into a recession.

But on Thursday, payroll processor ADP reported that hiring by private U.S. companies rose just 128,000 in May. That’s well below the 302,000 hires economists expected, according to FactSet.

Wall Street will get another glimpse into the health of the broader U.S. economy on Friday when the Labor Department releases its employment report for May. The jobs market had initially been slow to recover from the impact of the virus pandemic, but has bounced back strongly with low unemployment and plentiful job postings.

Meanwhile high inflation is eating into corporate profits, while the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 restrictions in China have also weighed on markets.

Bond yields were relatively stable. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set interest rates on mortgages and other loans, fell to 2.91% from 2.93% from late Wednesday.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude dipped 23 cents to $116.64 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 12 cents to $117.49 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched down to 129.82 Japanese yen from 129.87 yen. The euro cost $1.0765, up from $1.0752.

___

AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Asian shares rise, China trading closed for national holiday