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Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Friday amid hopes that major central banks will tackle inflation without causing a recession.<\/p>\n
U.S. Federal Reserve governors Christopher Waller and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard both backed another big interest rate rise in July but downplayed recessionary fears. <\/p>\n
The U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later in the day is expected to show that job creation slowed in June. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Boris Johnson announced his intention to resign as British prime minister, easing the political chaos in the U.K.<\/p>\n
Chinese shares give up early gains to end slightly lower as concerns over rising COVID-19 cases overshadowed expectations that China could deliver a 1.5 trillion-yuan ($220 billion) stimulus to boost growth. Investors also awaited an announcement on easing tariffs involving Chinese goods. <\/p>\n
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed 0.25 percent lower at 3,356.08 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged up 0.38 percent to 21,725.78.<\/p>\n
Japanese shares pared early gains to end marginally higher and the yen strengthened after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot at during an election campaign in western Japan’s Nara city. The 67-year-old Abe was in cardiopulmonary arrest before he was taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n
The Nikkei average ended 0.10 percent higher at 26,517.19 while the broader Topix index edged up 0.27 percent to settle at 1,887.43.<\/p>\n
Tech stocks such as Advantest, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron rose about 2 percent each in response to less hawkish comments from Fed officials. <\/p>\n
Sumitomo Metal Mining surged 5.2 percent and Mitsubishi Materials rallied 2.9 percent after Reuters reported that China will set up a state infrastructure investment fund worth 500 billion yuan ($74.69 billion) to spur infrastructure spending.<\/p>\n
Seoul stocks rose for a second straight session as concerns over an economic downturn eased. The Kospi average advanced 0.70 percent to 2,350.61.<\/p>\n
Automaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.7 percent, chemical maker LG Chem jumped over 3 percent and battery maker LG Energy Solution soared 3.9 percent.<\/p>\n
Australian markets<\/span> ended higher, with energy stocks leading the surge after oil prices rebounded from a two-day decline. Santos rallied 2.3 percent and Beach Energy surged 4.3 percent. <\/p>\n The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 rose 0.45 percent to 6,678 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.59 percent higher at 6,877.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, the benchmark S&P\/NZX-50 index gained 0.51 percent to close at 11,169.24.<\/p>\n U.S. stocks rose for a fourth straight session overnight as a falling trend in commodity prices tempered investor expectations over inflation and interest-rate hikes.<\/p>\n The Dow rallied 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 1.5 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.3 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Business News<\/p>\n<\/div>\n