Japanese stocks opened higher as investors cheered a rally in U.S. tech shares on Wall Street. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.24% (92.89 points) to 38,739.00. In China, Hong Kong stocks were little changed at the open after a poor performance last week.
Accordingly, the Hang Seng Index fell slightly by 2.92 points to 18,606.02 points. The Shanghai Composite Index in Shanghai rose by 0.17% (5.27 points) to 3,094.14 points. Korean stocks rose at the start of the new trading week, mainly due to investors buying at low prices after four consecutive sessions of decline.
Seoul's Kospi index added 0.41% (11.09 points) to 2,698.69 at the open. Overall market sentiment was hit hard last week after US Federal Reserve officials warned that they wanted more evidence that prices were under control.
This has raised concerns that the US central bank may not cut interest rates this year, a situation that has been complicated by data showing the world's number one economy remains in good shape, although borrowing costs remain at their highest in two decades.
But Wall Street’s major indexes rebounded on Thursday, helped by data showing a slight decline in one-year price expectations and a pick-up in consumer sentiment. That positive sentiment spread to Asia, where profits at Chinese industrial companies rose in April after falling the previous month.
However, investors were a little more cautious as they tried to assess China’s proposals to support its struggling property sector. The focus now turned to the release of the US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index.
This is the Fed's preferred inflation measure. In addition, the market is also waiting for the Fed's Beige Book report on the state of the economy. This report will be carefully studied by the market to find the Fed's directions on its monetary policy. In the domestic market, at 10:45 a.m. on May 27, the VN-Index increased by 1.93 points (0.15%) to 1,263.86 points. The HNX-Index increased by 0.40 points (0.17%) to 242.12 points.
Source: Bnews
