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Osaka, Japan.
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Asia-Pacific markets climbed Friday, after the S&P 500 hit record highs on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump called for lower interest rates and cheaper oil prices.
Japan's core inflation rate rose to a 16-month high at 3% in December, year on year, boosting the case for a rate hike from the Bank of Japan.
The CPI announcement comes ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting today. Market watchers expect the central bank to raise rates its their level in 17 years.
The country's stock benchmark Nikkei 225 started the day up 0.31%.
South Korea's Kospi opened 0.62% higher, while the Kosdaq gained 0.07%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.39%.
Meanwhile, Singapore's central bank eased its monetary policy settings in its Friday meeting in line with market watchers' expectations given the rise in core inflation levels in December.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 19,801 pointing to a slightly stronger open compared to the HSI's close of 19,700.56. The index had closed down 0.03% on Thursday's, erasing the gains it had earlier in the week.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks finished higher as the three major indexes rose.
The S&P 500 added 0.53%, notching an all-time intraday high for the second straight session to finish the day at 6,118.71.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 408.34 points, or 0.92%, to 44,565.07, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.22% to 20,053.68. Thursday marked the fourth straight winning session for all three major indexes.
— CNBC's Alex Harring and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
Singapore eases monetary policy for the first time since 2020
Singapore on Friday loosened its monetary policy for the first time since 2020, as it strives to boost growth.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it would slightly reduce the slope of its exchange rate policy band, known as the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate or S$NEER.
There will be no change to the width of the policy band or the level at which it is centered, MAS added.
— Lim Hui Jie
Japan core inflation climbs to a 16-month high, boosting case for rate hikes
Japan's core inflation rate rose to a 16-month high at 3% in December, year on year, boosting the case for a rate hike from the Bank of Japan.
This was in line with inflation expectations from economists polled by Reuters, and higher than the 2.7% growth in prices recorded in November.
The December reading means that core inflation in the country has matched or ran above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for 33 months in a row. The core inflation reading strips out only prices of fresh food, but includes energy.
— Lim Hui Jie
Stocks finish higher
The three major indexes concluded Thursday's session in the green.
The S&P 500 jumped 0.5%, notching an all-time closing high. The Dow rallied 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked higher by 0.2%.
— Alex Harring
Energy sector lagging this week
The broader market is headed for solid week-to-date gains, but energy stocks are struggling.
The S&P 500 energy sector is down 2% this week, on pace for its worst weekly performance since the week that ended Dec. 20, when it shed more than 5%. The space is also on track to snap a four-week winning streak.
Energy on track for a weekly decline
Halliburton is the worst-performing stock in the sector this week, losing more than 5%. Oneok and Hess were down about 4% during that time.
— Fred Imbert
Oracle heads for best week since December 2021
Oracle shares are up nearly 15% this week after President Trump announced a new joint venture with the company, Softbank and OpenAI to invest in artificial intelligence.
The stock is on pace for its best week since December 2021, when shares surged more than 16%. The stock is up 11% since the start of 2025.
Oracle, 5-day chart
— Samantha Subin
English (US)