Markets in Australia and Japan rose Friday, mirroring gains on Wall Street that saw both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite reach new highs.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 restored 228.2 points, or 0.4%, to 59,513.12. This comes as investors took in strong earnings from Apple and Caterpillar, looking past weaker-than-expected economic data and threats of escalation in Iran by U.S. President Donald Trump. Brent crude prices briefly surged to $126 a barrel after Axios reported that the U.S. military would brief Trump on potential action against Iran. The
Japanese yen strengthened marginally against the dollar on Friday, after reports that Tokyo had intervened to prop up the yen on Thursday, prompting a sharp rally. The currency was last trading at 156.56 against the greenback, after breaching the 160 level earlier in the week, hitting a two-year high of 160.72. Australian markets snapped an eight-session losing streak.
Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan were closed for May Day.
In other markets In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 135.9 points, or 1.1%, to 13,039.20.
In Australia, the AZX 200 recovered 64.02 points, or 0.7%, to 8,729.84.
