Asia shares higher ahead of holiday
Asian shares headed higher on Thursday but investors were cautious ahead of a Good Friday public holiday tomorrow in some major markets.
Japan’s shares were up despite a central bank survey showing firms expect inflation to rise 1.4% a year from now, casting doubts on the bank’s pledge to hit 2% this fiscal year.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 1.1% at 19,247.36.
Investors are also awaiting key jobs figures from the US on Friday.
Concerns over the health of the world’s largest economy were raised after data on Wednesday showed the pace of US manufacturing growth in March eased to its slowest in nearly two years.
The dollar remained under pressure, buying 119.57 yen against 119.76 yen in New York trade.
Rest of Asia
Chinese shares followed the rest of the region higher with the Shanghai Composite up 0.3% to 3,822.32.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.3% at 25,164.41.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7% at 5,900.5 as a bounce in oil prices boosted shares.
A private survey also showed that inflation rose from a five-year trough in March as petrol prices rebounded.
The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute’s monthly measure of consumer prices rose 0.4% in March, from February when it had been unchanged.
The annual pace was up to 1.5%, from 1.3%, but stayed well below the central bank’s target band of 2 to 3%.
The Australian market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.
South Korean shares were higher after data showed the country’s seasonally adjusted current account surplus in February at a record high for the second consecutive month.
Exports in February rose by 2% from January while imports fell 0.4%.
The benchmark Kospi index was up 0.4% at 2,037.07.
Source: BBC – Asia shares higher ahead of holiday
