Asia-Pacific markets surged on Friday, mirroring Wall Street's rally overnight as investors evaluated Japan's latest inflation data.
By 11:50 am AEDT (12:50 am GMT) The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%, The Kospi 200 gained 1%, and the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7%.
Japan’s October core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food prices, increased by 2.3% year-on-year, slightly above the anticipated 2.2% but cooling for a second consecutive month on slower growth in energy prices.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 462 points, or 1.1%, to 43,270.35. The S&P 500 gained 0.53% to close at 5,948.71, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.03% to 18,972.42.
Top gainers included Super Micro Computer Inc, up 15.1%, Amentum Holdings Inc, lifting 10.7%, and Deere & Co, adding 8.1%.
Alphabet Inc led decliners, falling 4.7% and 4.6% across its share classes, followed by TransDigm Group Inc, which fell 4.1%.
Chinese stocks ended modestly higher, with the Shanghai Composite and the CSI 300 both adding 0.1%.
However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%.
Crude oil prices surged after Vladimir Putin confirmed the launch of a hypersonic missile into Ukraine. Brent crude rose 1.9% to $74.22 per barrel, while gold climbed 0.7% to US$2,670.06 per ounce.
Among European markets, the FTSE 100 Index rose 0.8%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.7%, and France’s CAC 40 increased 0.2%.
