Asian shares gain led by Tokyo as industrial output boosts growth hopes
Published Feb 26, 2015 08:44PM ET
Asian stocks up
Investing.com - Shares in Tokyo gained on Friday after stronger than expected industrial production stoked growth hopes despite disappointing jobs, concumer prices and retail sales data.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.32% before the break.
National core CPI in Japan rose 2.2%, below the 2.3% year-on-year for January expected. The unemployment rate in January ticked up to 3.6%, compared to an expected steady rate of 3.4%. Household spending fell 5.1% in January year-on-year.
Industrial production month-on-month jumped 4.0%, well above an expected gain of 2.7% and retail sales fell 2.0%, compared to a forecast of down 1.3% year-on-year.
Overall on jobs in Japan. the number of unemployed fell 70,000 on year in January to 2.31 million,the 56th straight drop from year-earlier levels.
And more workers were hired in manufacturing after months of decline, thanks to the gradual pickup in production and exports.
In Australia private sector credit for January rose 0.5% month-on-month, matching expectations.
The S&P/ASX 200 was a tad higher, up 0.09%. The Hang Seng index was up 0.08% before the midday break.
Overnight, stocks fell on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index on Thursday, both remained on track for their best monthly performance in more than three years with one trading day left in the month of February.
The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, closed higher for the 11th time in 12 days, as it inched closer to the 5,000 barrier.
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Written By: Investing.com
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