Asian-Pacific equities traded higher on Friday, mirroring Wall Street’s record-setting session overnight, as investors looked past the ongoing United States government shutdown and focused on regional data.
By midday in Sydney, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.6%, while South Korea’s Kospi 200 remained closed for a public holiday.
Among data releases, Japanese jobs data showed unemployment rose to 2.6% in August, exceeding forecasts of 2.4% and up from 2.3% in July.
Australia’s service sector continued to expand in September, coming in at 52.4, according to S&P Global. The survey showed new business growth slowed but remained above average, while jobs growth accelerated to a five-month high and inflationary pressures eased.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%, all notching fresh record closes.
While shutdown concerns linger, markets have so far taken the political stalemate in stride, consistent with historical trends.
In commodities, Brent crude fell for the fourth straight session, down 1.9% to settle at multi-month lows of US$64.11 per barrel.
Spot gold slipped 0.2% to US$3,856.70 per ounce, easing after five consecutive sessions of gains that had pushed the metal into record territory.
Chinese markets stayed shut for the Golden Week holiday and will reopen on 8 October. India’s BSE Sensex was also closed.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index climbed 1.6% to a four-year high of 27,287.12.
In Europe, markets finished mixed on Thursday. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% from record highs to close at 9,427.7, while Germany’s DAX climbed 1.3% to 24,422.6 and France’s CAC 40 added 1.1% to 8,056.6.
