Asian markets settled higher on Friday, lifted by tracking a solid rally on Wall Street overnight amid weaker than expected inflation reading from the United States that raised hopes of the US Federal Reserve pausing interest rate rises soon, while Singapore's central bank left its monetary policy unchanged for the first time since April 2021. Chinese shares gained after People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said China's economy is expected to grow around 5 percent this year in line with the government's annual target. Meanwhile, China's March exports rose 14.8% over a year earlier, rebounding from a decline in January and February.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,338.15 | 19.79 | 0.59 |
Hang Seng | 20,438.81 | 94.33 | 0.46 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,818.57 | 32.97 | 0.48 |
KLSE Composite | 1,435.13 | 0.91 | 0.06 |
Nikkei 225 | 28,493.47 | 336.50 | 1.18 |
Straits Times | 3,302.66 | 8.12 | 0.25 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,571.49 | 9.83 | 0.38 |
Taiwan Weighted | 15,929.43 | 124.67 | 0.78 |
