(Bloomberg) -- Asian equities were set to cap a second week of gains as Japanese stocks advanced to the highest in 21 months, with sentiment boosted by a slew of economic data that was better than expected and after U.S. equity benchmarks closed at record highs.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1 percent to 154.57 as of 4:18 p.m. in Hong Kong. The benchmark gauge has climbed 1.2 percent since May 26, adding on to its 1.3 percent advance last week. Japan's Topix index breached the 1,600 mark and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average surpassed 20,000 for the first time since December 2015 as the yen weakened for a second day. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gained 4.4 percent, leading a gauge of financial shares. Nine out of 11 industry groups in the regional benchmark climbed, while a measure of telecommunication companies was the worst performer.
In the U.S. Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index set new closing highs as private American hiring figures and manufacturing data that beat estimates bolstered confidence in the global economy. Attention will now turn to the latest U.S. nonfarm payroll jobs report due Friday which may support the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month, with economists forecasting a gain of 182,000 positions.
“With overnight markets notching new highs from the latest economic data, Asian markets could draw inspiration and find more synchronized gains into the end of the week,” said Jingyi Pan, a Singapore-based market strategist for IG Asia Pte. Ltd. “That said, the market would still be looking ahead to today's NFP release for confirmation of this strong performance.”
South Korea's Kospi Index rallied 1.2 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.9 percent. The Asian benchmark gauge has risen 15 percent this year, driven by prospects for economic growth. China's official factory gauge released this week held up in May, adding to signs that the world's second-largest economy has maintained some of its first-quarter momentum.
Summary
- Topix +1.6%, Nikkei 225 +1.6%
- Taiwan's Taiex +0.7%
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index +0.4%; HSCEI +0.4%; Shanghai Composite +0.1%
- Singapore's Straits Times Index little changed; Philippine Stock Exchange Index -0.3%; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index +0.7%; Thailand's SET Index +0.3%, Vietnam's VN Index -0.4%
- New Zealand NZX +0.5%
- Jakarta Composite Index -0.1%, reopens after holiday Thursday
- India's Sensex +0.5%
--With assistance from Jake Ulick
To contact the reporters on this story: Choong En Han in Kuala Lumpur at echoong6@bloomberg.net, Harry Suhartono in Jakarta at hsuhartono@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivek Shankar at vshankar3@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie
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