MANILA, Philippines (AP) \u2014 Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday after Wall Street rose to records following better-than-expected updates\u2026<\/p>\n
MANILA, Philippines (AP) \u2014 Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday after Wall Street rose to records following better-than-expected updates on the economy and a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% lower to 39,854.28 as traders stayed on the sidelines ahead of an election for the upper house of parliament on Sunday that could wipe out the ruling coalition\u2019s upper house majority.<\/p>\n
The government reported that core inflation excluding volatile food and energy prices rose to 3.3% in June from a year earlier, slowing from 3.7% in May but still above the central bank\u2019s 2% target.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng index added 0.7% to 24,676.64, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.3% to 3,528.90.<\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s Taiex climbed 0.9%, helped by a 2.2% gain for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. On Thursday, TSMC reported its net income soared nearly 61% in the last quarter from a year earlier. The world\u2019s largest contract chip maker said it\u2019s seeing strong demand from artificial-intelligence and other customers. On Thursday, TSMC\u2019s stock that trades in the United States rose 3.4%. <\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s S&P\/ASX 200 rose 1.5% to 8,765.00, and the Kospi in South Korea shed 0.6% to 3,173.69. India\u2019s Sensex shed 0.3%. <\/p>\n
\u201cAsia\u2019s riding the global rally wave, AI fever refuses to break, and even the Fed is making soothing noises,\u201d Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a commentary. \u201cBut underneath all the sunshine is a market running hot, with volatility on sale and positioning still cautious.\u201d <\/p>\n
On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to top its all-time high set a week ago, closing at 6,297.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 44,484.49, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.7% to its own record set the day before, climbing to 20,885.65.<\/p>\n
Trading was calmer than on Wednesday, when President Donald Trump rocked financial markets by saying he had discussed the \u201cconcept\u201d of firing the chair of the Federal Reserve,<\/a> though he said he was unlikely to do so. Such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates investors love, but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.<\/p>\n Apart from TSMC, other stocks involved in AI also climbed. A 1% gain for Nvidia was one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. <\/p>\n PepsiCo jumped 7.5% after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street\u2019s expectations. <\/p>\n Treasury yields were mixed following several better-than-expected reports on the economy.<\/p>\n One said that shoppers upped their spending <\/a> at U.S. retailers by more last month than economists expected. Such spending, along with a relatively solid jobs market, has helped keep the U.S. economy out of a recession. <\/p>\n