Photo/Illutration Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Japanese stocks led the gains in Asian markets Friday after Wall Street rallied to one of its best days of the year as data showed the U.S. economy is holding up better than expected, with particular credit going to the country’s shoppers.

U.S. futures were higher while oil prices dropped.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 ended a week of gains with the index surging 3.6% to 38,062.67. It rebounded from the large selloff last week, where the higher interest rate from the Bank of Japan made investors who had borrowed in yen and invested in dollar assets sell their holdings to cover the higher costs in the “carry trades” deals.

The yen went weaker against the greenback this week. The dollar fell slightly to 149.00 yen from 149.27 yen in afternoon trading, but it was hovering around 146 yen during the previous week.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.8% to 17,407.93, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 2,874.95.

Chinese central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said in an interview with Chinese state media on Thursday that it is developing new policies aimed at supporting economic growth in the second half of the year. These include accelerating improvements to the central banking system and placing greater emphasis on the financial technology market.

He also said the overall cost burden of local government debt has seen a significant drop.

Meanwhile, e-commerce giants’ reports also drew investors’ attention, with the tech giant Alibaba Group Holding seeing revenue grow 4% in the second quarter. Though missing estimates, its Hong Kong-listed shares still grew 4.7% on Friday.

Another e-commerce company, JD.com, saw its shares up 8.7% after it reported forecast-beating quarterly profits.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2% to close at 2,697.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.3% to 7,971.10.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.6% for its fourth-best day of the year and its sixth straight gain as the U.S. stock market rights itself following a scary few weeks. It’s back to within 2.2% of its all-time high set last month after briefly falling close to 10% below it.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, while the Nasdaq composite burst 2.3% higher as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks recovered more of their stumbles from the past month.

Treasury yields also leaped in the bond market following the encouraging economic report. One said U.S. shoppers increased their spending at retailers last month by much more than economists expected, while another said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits.

A year ago, such reports could have sent the stock market reeling on worries they would push inflation higher. But good news for the economy is once again good news for Wall Street, particularly after a report showed U.S. employers pulled back on their hiring last month by much more than expected.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 88.01 points to 5,543.22. The Dow gained 554.67 to 40,563.06, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 401.89 to 17,594.50.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield clambered up to 3.91% from 3.84% late Wednesday following the strong economic data. The two-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.09% from 3.96% late Wednesday.

Traders still widely expect the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in September, which would be the first such cut since the 2020 COVID crash.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 30 cents to $77.86 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 29 cents to $80.75 a barrel.

The euro cost $1.0983, up from $1.0971.

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