Asia Markets: Asian markets track Wall Street higher

Hopes that economies will regain ground lost since last year’s first outbreaks of coronavirus thanks to COVID-19 vaccinations and huge amounts of government have helped support stocks. At the same time, a quick rise in U.S. interest rates has undercut those advances.

The U.S. government reported the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to its lowest level since before the pandemic, helping to boost sentiment.

“Although very much in the price, investors did take solace as the positive outlook for vaccines amid President Joe Biden’s plan for an ‘economic rejuvenation,’ which underpinned risk overnight,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index NIK, +1.56% surged 1.5% and the Hang Seng HSI, +1.60% in Hong Kong picked up 1.4% . In Seoul, the Kospi 180721, +1.09% rose 0.9%. The Shanghai Composite index SHCOMP, +1.63% climbed 1.4% and India’s Sensex 1, +1.41% rose 0.9%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.52% rose 0.5% to 3,909.52 after having been down 0.9% in the early going. But it was still on track for a loss for the week.

Investors have been moving money away from expensive tech stocks as part of a broader shift to stocks tied more closely to economic growth. There’s a good chance the recovery could be surprisingly strong with little interference from the Federal Reserve, said Andrew Slimmon, portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

“There is a very clear message that the Fed is going to sit back and let the economy grow at a hotter rate because their number one priority is unemployment,” he said. “That means there’s a good chance the economy overshoots.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.62% gained 0.6% to 32,619.48. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.12% recovered from early losses to edged 0.1% higher, to 12,977.68. The Russell 2000 index RUT, +2.29% of smaller stocks outdid the rest of the market, climbing 2.3% to 2,183.12.

The 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.636%, which helps set rates for all kinds of loans, was steady at 1.62%. Treasury yields have been broadly rising with expectations for stronger economic growth and the inflation that may accompany it.

Apart from the upbeat jobless report, another report said the U.S. economy grew at a faster pace at the end of 2020 than earlier estimated.

In other trading Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil CL.1, +1.88% gained 59 cents to $ 59.15 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It sank $ 2.62 on Thursday to $ 58.56 per barrel.

Brent crude BRN00, +1.70%, the standard for international pricing, picked up 47 cents to $ 62.67 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 109.26 Japanese yen USDJPY, +0.03% from 109.19 yen late Thursday. The euro EURUSD, +0.17% rose to $ 1.1779 from $ 1.1766.