Tech stocks have led advances in Asia, taking their cue from Wall Street’s gains after tepid inflation data allayed concerns over the state of the US economy.
US Treasury yields remained elevated after pulling further away from recent lows the day before, on escalating tit-for-tat tariff battles between the United States and trading partners.
The euro was steady after slipping back from a five-month high on Wednesday, when President Donald Trump warned of a response to the European Union’s threatened counter-tariffs on US goods.
However, the shared currency continued to garner support from signs of progress towards peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Gold climbed to within $US13 of its record peak, while crude oil was stable following a two per cent climb in the prior session on the back of a smaller-than-expected rise in US stockpiles.
Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.9 per cent on Thursday, buoyed by advances in chip-sector heavyweights such as Advantest and Tokyo Electron.
Taiwan’s tech-heavy equities index added 0.6 per cent, and South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.7 per cent.
Mainland Chinese blue chips edged up 0.1 per cent, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated from small early gains to be down 0.3 per cent.
The US S&P 500 advanced 0.5 per cent on Wednesday, and the Nasdaq jumped 1.2 per cent, with beaten-down megacap tech shares rebounding sharply.
Futures in both indices pointed 0.1 per cent higher on Thursday.
On Wednesday, data showed US consumer prices rose 0.2 per cent in February after accelerating 0.5 per cent in January.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI climbed 0.2 per cent in February after gaining 0.4 per cent in January.
The inflation figures were closely watched following a run of softer economic data recently and the potential inflationary impact of Trump’s tariff campaign.
Producer prices due later on Thursday will also bear close scrutiny.
“Uncertainty remains in the air as the outlook for consumer price inflation remains blurred by trade policy developments,” TD Securities analysts wrote in a client note.
“The impact from the recent implementation of tariffs on Chinese, Canadian and Mexican goods and the expectation of further announcements suggest the worst is yet to come.”
Trump’s increased tariffs on all US steel and aluminium imports took effect on Wednesday, drawing swift retaliation from Canada and Europe.
Trade uncertainty led US Treasury yields to extend a climb from Tuesday’s five-month low for two-year notes overnight.
The yield last stood at 3.924 per cent after rising as high as 4.005 per cent on Wednesday.
It sank as low as 3.829 per cent on Tuesday for the first time since October 4.
Rising yields supported the dollar, which was steady at $US1.0895 per euro on Thursday after weakening to $US1.0947 on Tuesday for the first time since October 11.
Europe’s shared currency has soared on the promise of bigger spending on defence and infrastructure by Germany, along with progress towards a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
The dollar has been on the defensive as Trump’s unpredictable trade policies sowed concerns about a possible US recession.
The safe-haven yen pulled back to 146.205 after reaching its strongest since October 4 at 146.545 per dollar on Tuesday.
Gold rose about 0.3 per cent to as high as $US2,943.49, closing in on the record high from February 24 at $US2,956.15.
Crude oil steadied following Wednesday’s rally.
Brent futures eased 0.1 per cent to $US70.88 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 0.2 per cent to $US67.57 a barrel.