Japan stocks lift Asian market higher after US retail data boost Wall Street

Japanese stocks led the gains in Asian markets Friday after Wall Street rallied to one of its best days of the year as data showed the U.S. economy is holding up better than expected, with particular credit going to the country’s shoppers.

U.S. futures were higher while oil prices dropped.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 is set to end a week of gains, with the index surging 2.9% to 37,800.42. It rebounded from the large selloff last week, where the higher interest rate from the Bank of Japan made investors who had borrowed in yen and invested in dollar assets sell their holdings to cover the higher costs in the “carry trades” deals.

The yen went weaker against the greenback this week. The dollar fell to 148.88 yen from 149.27 yen in morning trading, while it was hovering around 146 during the previous week.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.6% to 17,376.44, and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher to 2,879.93.

Gov. Pan Gongsheng said in an interview with state media on Thursday that China’s central bank is developing new policies aimed at supporting economic growth in the second half of the year. These include accelerating improvements to the central banking system and placing greater emphasis on the financial technology market.

He also said the overall cost burden of local government debt has seen a significant drop.

Meanwhile, e-commerce giants’ reports also drew investors’ attention, with the tech giant Alibaba Group Holding seeing revenue grow 4% in the second quarter. Though missing estimates, its Hong Kong-listed shares still grew 3.7% on Friday.

Another e-commerce company JD.com’s shares was up 8.9% after it reported forecast-beating quarterly profits.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 1.8%, to 2,692.65. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.3% to 7,962.40.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.6% for its fourth-best day of the year and its sixth straight gain as the U.S. stock market rights itself following a scary few weeks. It’s back to within 2.2% of its all-time high set last month after briefly falling close to 10% below it.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, while the Nasdaq composite burst 2.3% higher as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks recovered more of their stumbles from the last month.

Treasury yields also leaped in the bond market following the encouraging economic report. One said U.S. shoppers increased their spending at retailers last month by much more than economists expected, while another said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits.

A year ago, such reports could have sent the stock market reeling on worries they would push inflation higher. But good news for the economy is once again good news for Wall Street, particularly after a report showed U.S. employers pulled back on their hiring last month by much more than expected.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 88.01 points to 5,543.22. The Dow gained 554.67 to 40,563.06, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 401.89 to 17,594.50.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield clambered up to 3.91% from 3.84% late Wednesday following the strong economic data. The two-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.09% from 3.96% late Wednesday.

Traders still widely expect the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in September, which would be the first such cut since the 2020 COVID crash.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 27 cents to $77.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 18 cents to $80.86 a barrel.

The euro cost $1.0980, up from $1.0971.