Asian indices mostly higher on renewed optimism

Tokyo: Asian shares mostly rose Monday as investors looked ahead to earnings reports from top global companies and a consumer prices report that will be a gauge for US inflation.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei-225 jumped 0.9 per cent in afternoon trading to 39,347.04. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2 per cent to 7,789.10. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3 per cent to 2,722.89. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3 per cent to 16,778.55, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.6 per cent to 3,050.80 points.

Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG, said: “As risk sentiments look to bounce from earlier jitters, gains may still be somewhat limited, however, as the lead-up to the key US consumer price index this week could leave some reservations in place.” The US government releases its March report on consumer prices later this week.

Wall Street ended last week with a rally after a surprisingly strong US jobs report. The S&P 500 rose 1.1 per cent, making up most of the loss from the previous day and moving closer to its record high set last week. The benchmark index still posted its first weekly loss in three weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.2 per cent. Technology companies accounted for a big share of the rally.

US employers added a surprisingly strong 303,000 workers to their payrolls in March, the government reported Friday. The strong job market has helped fuel consumer spending and earnings growth for businesses, amounting to strong economic growth overall.