Markets in Asia-Pacific rose Friday as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments as he vowed to raise rates to tackle inflation “until the job is done.”
The Nikkei 225 jumped 149.47 points, or 0.5%, to 28,065.28.
The Japanese yen hovered around 142 against the dollar. The Korean won was at 1,373.99. The offshore Chinese yuan was 6.923.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index soared 507.63 points, or 2.7%, to 19,362.25.
The Australian dollar rose 1.63% to 0.686, recovering from the previous session’s losses which followed Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe’s dovish remarks.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 recovered 56.11 points, or 1.4%, to 4,093,79.
China’s consumer inflation came in at 2.5% in August, lower than the 2.7% recorded in July.
Goldman Sachs says it expects the People’s Bank of China to cut its reserve requirement ratio by 25 basis points in the fourth quarter on softer-than-expected inflation readings.
In other markets
Markets in Taiwan and Korea were shuttered Friday for holiday.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 29.34 points, or 0.9%, to 3,262.95.
In Australia, the ASX 200 advanced 45.51 points, or 0.7%, to 6,894.18.
In New Zealand, the NZX hiked 79.83 points, or 0.7%, to 11,757.77.
