Asia markets mostly rise on data-heavy day

Shreyashi Sanyal

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Friday as investors parsed data from major economies across the region.

Japan’s industrial output figures showed a surprise 0.1% fall in April from the previous month, against a Reuters poll forecast for a 0.9% rise.

Another dataset showed core inflation in Japan’s capital Tokyo rose 1.9% in May, in line with Reuters poll expectations.

South Korea’s industrial production index rose 2.2% month-on-month in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, beating a Reuters poll expectation of a 1.1% rise.

Data from China showed its manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in May, with the official purchasing managers index coming in at 49.5, from 50.4 in April.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 index reversed earlier gains to trade 0.3% lower by the afternoon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index pared gains to trade 0.2% higher.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.14% to close 38,487.9, while the broader Topix index gained 1.7% to end at 2,772.49.

South Korea’s Kospi ended flat at 2,636.52, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq closed 0.96% lower at 839.98.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.96% to close at 7,701.7.

Overnight, Wall Street’s main indexes closed lower as investors looked ahead to the release of key U.S. inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 330.06 points, or 0.86%. The S&P 500 lost 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.08%.

The latest reading for the personal consumption expenditures price index will be released Friday, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for inflation, and is expected to show prices in April running at a 2.7% annual rate, according to Dow Jones estimates.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.

China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracts

Official data from China showed its manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in May.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index came in at 49.5, from 50.4 in April. The reading is below a Reuters poll forecast of 50.4.

The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction.

The PMI reading arrives after data earlier in the week showed China’s industrial profits rose 4.3% year on year in the January to April period.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Tokyo core inflation rises 1.9% in May; Japan industrial output in April posts surprise fall

Core inflation in Japan’s capital city of Tokyo rose 1.9% in May, more than the 1.6% increase in April.

The reading for May was in line with Reuters poll expectations.

Tokyo’s inflation figures are widely considered to be a leading indicator of nationwide trends.

Separately, Japan’s industrial output figures showed a surprise 0.1% fall in April from the previous month, against a Reuters poll forecast for a 0.9% rise.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

South Korea’s industrial production rises in April, retail sales fall

Official data showed South Korea’s industrial production rose in April, compared to a fall in the previous month.

The industrial production index rose 2.2% in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, after falling 3% in March.

The figure also beat a Reuters poll expectation of a 1.1% month-on-month rise.

South Korea’s retail sales index fell by 1.2% month-on-month in April, and 2.6% from the same period last year.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

CNBC Pro: ‘Many happy returns’: Barclays names 2 global stocks it says has over 100% upside to play right now

Investment bank Barclays is bullish on European stocks thanks in large part to “solid earnings beats and [an] uptick in EPS [earnings per share revisions]” in the first quarter.

“Overall, margins are resilient, capital returns are strong, firms are optimistic and EPS revisions have picked up. Cyclicals are seeing more upgrades, but defensives have outperformed in the recent rally,” the analysts wrote, naming two stocks with over 100% upside potential to play right now.

— Amala Balakrishner

CNBC Pro: Goldman Sachs names top global stocks to play the coming power boom in AI and other areas

The artificial intelligence boom is fueling demand for power, with many tech companies rapidly developing infrastructure as they compete for dominance.

Power needs are only set to rise in the coming years, as large language models require a lot of data center capacity.

But the need for power goes beyond data centers and other infrastructure, according to Goldman.

Against that backdrop, the bank introduced what it called its power and electricity basket of stocks, comprising 50 stocks across China, South Korea, Taiwan, India and Australia.

— Weizhen Tan

‘April showers bring May flowers,’ says LPL Financial

The S&P 500 is up 4.6% month to date, putting it on pace for its sixth-best May since 1950, according to LPL Financial. The market rebound after the pullback in April indicates that ”‘April showers bring May flowers is a better market analogy than ‘Sell in May and Go away,’” according to Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial.

Turnquist noted that seasonality trends in the summer suggest June will be a dull month for the markets. Since 1950, the broad market index has risen an average of just 0.1% in June, with positive monthly results just 55% of months.

— Hakyung Kim

Source : cnbc