Japan +0.07%. Japan data – Tokyo inflation for January 2023. Headline 4.4% y/y (prior 4.0%).
China Market closed.
Hong Kong +0.30%.
Australia +0.34%. Australian Q4 PPI +0.7% q/q (vs. expected 1.7%) +5.8% y/y (expected 6.3).
Australian Q4 export prices -0.9% q/q (prior -3.6%) & import prices +1.8% (prior 3.0%).
India -1.72%.
Overnight on Wall Street, major stock indexes gained after the U.S. economy grew more than expected. Stocks also gained as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings, with a Tesla-led tech rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 205.57 points, or 0.61%, to 33,949.41, the S&P 500 gained 44.21 points, or 1.10%, to 4,060.43 and the Nasdaq Composite added 199.06 points, or 1.76%, to 11,512.41.
New Zealand January business confidence -52.0 (prior -70.2) Activity -15.8 (prior -25.6).
South Korean Q4 GDP has contracted -0.4% q/q (vs. expected -0.3%), even worse than was expected.
Private residential property prices in Singapore rose by 0.4% in the final quarter of 2022, a release by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed. Home prices rose 8.6% in the full year of 2022, the release said, also less than then 10.6% increase seen in the full year of 2021.
Oil prices edged ahead for a second session on Friday, buoyed by stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth and hopes of a rapid recovery in Chinese demand as Covid-19 cases and deaths plunged from last month’s peak levels.
Brent futures gained 30 cents, or 0.34%, to $87.77 a barrel by 0321 GMT, while U.S. crude rose 34 cents to $81.35 per barrel, a 0.42% gain.
Gold prices were little changed on Friday as traders awaited U.S. inflation data, due later in the day, to gauge the Federal Reserve’s stance on further interest rate hikes.
Spot gold was flat at $1,927.99 per ounce as of 0234 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were off 0.1% at $1,928.30.
Spot silver fell 0.2% to $23.86 per ounce.
Platinum lost 0.4% to $1,013.88, and palladium also slipped 0.4% to $1,670.87.
U.S. futures lower. Dow Jones -0.12%; S&P 500 -0.32%; Nasdaq -0.62%.
