Asian stocks rallied, with MSCI’s regional gauge nearing a record high, after US inflation and jobless claims data cemented expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.
Benchmark share indexes rose in Japan, South Korea, Australia and Hong Kong, outweighing a mixed day for mainland China equities.
Chipmakers including SK Hynix Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. were among the biggest contributors to Friday’s gains.
Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. shares jumped. The MSCI regional equity gauge has now climbed more than 20% this year, and is within 0.3% of its all-time high set in 2021.
The bullish moves Friday followed new record on Thursday for the S&P 500, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and MSCI index of global shares.
“Asian equities hardly needed more excuses to rally,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd. in Melbourne.
“The Nikkei 225 is ripping higher” with the potential to break about 45,000 in the near term, he said. US inflation data published Thursday showed consumer price index data stripping out food and energy rose 0.3% in August, in line with economists’ forecasts.
