HONG KONG (AP) – Asian stocks rose on Monday ahead of this week's policy decisions by Japan's central bank and Federal Reserve.
Oil prices and US futures rose.
China's data for January-February was mixed, with real estate investment down, but other indicators showed improvement.
In the Tokyo market, the Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.7% to 39,740.44. Markets are awaiting the Bank of Japan's decision on Tuesday on whether to raise the benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years. Since 2016, it has remained at -0.1%.
Signs that employers are planning solid wage hikes have prompted the central bank to finally move away from the massive monetary easing it has introduced over the years to spur growth in a country with a rapidly shrinking and aging population. It appears that the trend is toward easing.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.1% to 16,775.55, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1% to 3,084.93.
Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 7,675.80 and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7% to 2,685.84.
In India, the Sensex rose 0.2% and in Bangkok, the SET rose 0.3%.
On Friday, Wall Street ended its second consecutive week of losses, recouping some of the gains that pushed the stock market to record highs earlier in the week.
The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 5,117.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to $38,714.77, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1% to $15,973.17.
Technology stocks have fallen. Software maker Adobe fell 13.7% after giving investors a weak earnings outlook. Microsoft fell 2.1% and Broadcom fell 2.1%.
Telecommunications services stocks also contributed to the market decline. Metaplatforms fell 1.6% and Google parent Alphabet fell 1.3%.
The recent decline in stocks came as traders scrutinized several reports that showed inflation was generally slowing but remained stubborn.
Consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in March, according to a high-profile report from the University of Michigan.
Inflation remains a big concern on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve looks to start cutting interest rates. The Federal Reserve has sharply raised interest rates starting in 2022 to keep inflation at its 2% target. Consumer-level inflation in 2022 he reached 9.1%.
Last week's consumer price report showed that inflation remained robust, rising from 3.1% in January to 3.2% in February. A separate report on wholesale-level prices also showed that inflation remained higher than Wall Street expected.
Other reports this week showed the economy is softening slightly, raising hopes that inflation will continue to ease for an extended period of time.
The stock rally that began in October has essentially stalled this month as investors worry about inflation, the Federal Reserve and the future of the economy.
Fed officials are expected to release their latest forecast on Wednesday about where they think interest rates will go this year after their latest policy meeting. Traders are still leaning toward a rate cut in June, according to CME Group data. The Fed's key interest rate is at its highest level since 2001.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 56 cents to $81.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard crude, rose 53 cents to $85.87 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 149.17 yen from 149.03 yen. The euro rose to $1.0894 from $1.0887.
