Japanese equities set another record on the first day of spring, tracking Wall Street gains
US stocks advanced on Thursday to finish February on a positive note, with Nasdaq rising to its first closing record since November 2021. The tech-heavy index added 0.90% to close at an all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 0.52% to see a record close as well. The Dow Jones gained just 0.12% to add 2.22% for its first four-month winning streak in nearly three years. On the data front, headline PCE, increased 0.3% monthly and 2.4% on yearly basis, in line with estimates. Personal income rose 1% month-over-month in January, well above the forecast for 0.3%.
Tracking Wall Street gains, Asian equities rose on Friday, with Japanese stocks setting another record on the first day of spring. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.92% despite mixed economic data. While unemployment rate dropped to 2.4% in January, from 2.5%, the PMI for manufacturing activity fell to 47.2 in February, reflecting sluggish demand both in domestic and international markets. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.47%, and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.39%. Fresh data out of China showed that manufacturing activity contracted for the fifth consecutive month in February.
European markets moved higher on Friday to start the new trading month. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.4% in early deals. Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.42% after hitting a fresh all-time high in the previous session. Regional investors are now shifting their focus towards next week’s ECB meeting. The central bank is widely expected to leave policy unchanged, but monetary authorities could hint at rate cuts later in the year. If so, stocks will continue the ascent during the upcoming week.
In currencies, the US dollar holds steady on Friday after three sessions of gains. The USD index is back above the 104.00 figure but is yet to confirm the breakout on a daily and weekly closing basis. On the upside, the 104.25 zone represents the immediate resistance at this stage, while the nearest support arrives in the 103.80 region, followed by this week’s lows around 103.60. The overall bullish trend surrounding the greenback remains intact due to strong economic data in combination with more hawkish Fed.