ASIAN STOCKS, U.S. FUTURES UP ON BETTER GROWTH OUTLOOK

Asian stocks rose along with US equity futures Friday, May 28, 2021, after solid economic data and President Joe Biden’s federal spending plans spurred a Wall Street rally in cyclical shares. Treasury yields climbed, Sunil Jagtiani reported for Bloomberg News.

Japanese shares led gains, Hong Kong pushed higher aided by JD Logistics Inc.’s debut and China fluctuated. Earlier, a rise in industrial and financial shares fueled a modest overall increase in the S&P 500, while small-caps outperformed and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped.

US data included a drop in jobless claims to a fresh pandemic low, while Biden is reportedly set to unveil a budget that would take federal spending to $6 trillion in the coming fiscal year.

S&P 500 futures increased 0.3% as of 11:20 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge rose 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 contracts added 0.2%. The gauge fell 0.3%. Japan’s Topix index rose 1.9%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.2%.

South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite index was little changed. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index ticked up 0.1%.

The euro was at $1.2183, down 0.1%. The British pound was at $1.4185, slipping 0.2%.

The Japanese yen dipped 0.1% to was at 109.90 per dollar. The offshore yuan was at 6.3722 per dollar.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 1.61%. Australia’s 10-year yield increased six basis points to 1.69%. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $67.13 a barrel. Gold was at $1,894.88 an ounce, down 0.1%

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