Beijing, Nov. 19 (BNA) Most Asian stock markets rose on Friday after Wall Street hit a record high and Japanese inflation fell, the Associated Press reported.
Market standards have advanced in Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney. Hong Kong refused. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 advanced 0.3%, putting it on track for weekly gains.
Investors are shifting their focus from corporate earnings to the long-term outlook for global economies and whether central banks might feel pressure to cool rising prices by backing off stimulus faster than planned.
Inflation is “currently the main focus of the markets,” Fouad Razakzadeh of ThinkMarkets said in a report.
Also Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh week to an epidemic low of 268,000.
US stocks rose in early October as companies reported stronger-than-expected earnings. Companies in the S&P 500 reported an overall earnings growth of 39%. This beats the previous forecast in June of 23% growth for the quarter.
Companies face higher costs for raw materials and supply chain problems. Consumers have so far absorbed the price hikes, but analysts fear they may eventually be able to rein in spending if the increases persist.
In energy markets, benchmark US crude rose 65 cents to $79.06 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, which is used as the basis for the global oil price, rose 72 cents to $81.96 a barrel in London.
The dollar rose to 114.38 yen from 114.27 yen on Thursday. The euro fell to $1.1356 from $1.1370.
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