Asian Shares Mostly Higher After Wall Street Gains

Asian stocks were mainly higher on Friday, July 22, 2022, following another day of gains on Wall Street amid a flood of data on the economy, interest rates, and corporate profits, according to Elaine Kurtenbach of the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Sydney surged, while Seoul and Shanghai fell.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Sydney surged, while Seoul and Shanghai fell. U.S. futures fell slightly, while oil prices increased. Japan reported slower-than-expected inflation in June, with food prices rising 6.5 percent year on year compared to 12.3 percent in May and energy expenses rising 16.5 percent versus 20.8 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food costs, increased to 2.6 percent from 2.2 percent the previous month.

The Bank of Japan, unlike the Federal Reserve and other central banks, has signaled that it does not aim to raise its minus 0.1 percent benchmark interest rate to counter the trend since wages are not rising in lockstep with prices, limiting consumer demand.

A preliminary estimate on factory activity in Japan revealed that output and new orders were at their lowest levels in months. Companies blamed raw material shortages and higher expenses.

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo rose 0.4 percent to 27,924.97, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.1 percent to 20,598.98. The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia rose 0.2 percent to 6,807.10.

The Kospi in South Korea fell 0.3 percent to 2,402.72. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.3 percent to 3,261.12 points.

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