Asian Shares Rise, Buoyed by Gains in U.S. Stocks
February 17 2016 - 10:40PM
Dow Jones News
Markets in Asia rose Thursday as worries about the global
financial system and the U.S.'s ability to withstand turmoil
overseas abated somewhat.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 2.5%, Australia's S&P
ASX 200 gained 1.8% and South Korea's Kospi was up 1.1%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.5% while the Shanghai
Composite Index was up 0.5%, as authorities reported that Chinese
consumer inflation accelerated slightly in January, gaining speed
for the third straight month.
The country's consumer-price index rose 1.8% in January from a
year earlier, slightly quicker than a 1.6% year-over-year rise in
December, and in line with economists' expectations. Higher food
prices ahead of the Lunar New Year were among the main factors
pushing up the headline figure.
China's producer-price index declined 5.3% in January from a
year earlier, compared with a 5.9% year-over-year drop in December.
That index has lingered in deflationary territory for almost four
years.
The region's shares gained after U.S. stocks rose 1.6% on
Wednesday to log their first three-day rally this year.
But as investors begin to look for bargains following a rough
round of selling last week, concerns about global growth remain.
Oil prices have also been volatile, as investors worry whether
major oil producers will limit their oil output to a degree that
will dent the global glut of crude.
Energy stocks were up 4% in Australia and 5% in Hong Kong, after
U.S. crude oil surged 5.6% overnight.
In Tokyo, steel and energy stocks led gains. Nippon Steel &
Sumitomo Metal was up 5.1% at 2,002.5 yen while Oil distributor JX
Holdings was up 4.6% at Y454.3.
Brent oil futures were down early in Asia, but recovered to last
gain 0.9% to $34.80 a barrel.
In Indonesia, the rupiah was last up 0.2% at 13475 to one U.S.
dollar during the Asia session. Earlier this week, the currency
reached its strongest level in four months against the U.S. dollar
at 13290 rupiah to one greenback. Bank Indonesia is expected to cut
interest rates by 0.25% later today.
--Liyan Qi and Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.
Write to Chao Deng at Chao.Deng@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 17, 2016 22:25 ET (03:25 GMT)
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